


Academy Days

by WiseRussano



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Crimes & Criminals, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Slow Burn, Violence, Zootopia (City)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:14:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 30,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24121177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WiseRussano/pseuds/WiseRussano
Summary: Nick is finally ready to step into the police academy and maybe a new life as an honest citizen. Judy is assigned a new partner and has to learn that sometimes a city's past stands in the way of its future.When a new threat emerges they both will be forced to confront their fears to save the city and to save each other.
Relationships: Judy Hopps/Nick Wilde
Comments: 26
Kudos: 68





	1. Journey begins and Journey’s End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to my first Zootopia longfic.
> 
> this may be an overly long prologue chapter but I found myself enjoying writing these characters and setting up plot for further down the road.  
> Don't worry, future chapters will focus on our favorite fox and bunny tag team.

**Prologue:**

_A story never really begins. It’s simply picked up where the last person left it._

_-Albert Longtail_

****

**Journey begins and Journey’s End**

“Come on Cap, I’m sure we can get you singing a song written in our lifetime, or at least this century,” Roxy teased Macwolf with a grin.

“Not sure anything good been written in your lifetime, girl,” Captain Stan Macwolf responded to the young Cougar and his Chief Mate. “Now ease that throttle down a notch. You want to ease into port, not ram the entire city,” he said, watching Roxy’s paws on the tiller. He stood in the wheelhouse and looked out over the deck as Roxy eased the _Polina_ into her berth at the docks and with only a slight bump as she came to rest. Crewmen threw ropes towards waiting paws and claws to tie her off and secure her, officially ending her weeks at sea. The sun was just setting behind the city line and Zootopia was bathed in a crimson and gold glow.

“Yep, sea chanties and songs about shipwrecks do represent the pinnacle of mammal achievement,” she said with a tone of mock seriousness, powering down the engines before walking over and grabbing a pair of binoculars and peering down at the crew below. Reaching for the intercom, “Jackson, I will shave your fur, shove it up your ass and mail you to your grandmother as a throw pillow if you dent that crane arm!” 

“I’ll give you the Beagles had a few good tunes, till they became long furred hippies.”

Not that Stan would admit to having ‘Tabby Road’ on vinyl and his digital play list. _Must maintain some dignity in my image as the bitter old sea captain,_ he thought to himself.

“Ok, so we are closer to the modern era with music recorded in my parents’ lifetime. I’m just saying, Cap, come out with us to the Hoppy Pouch, have a few drinks and laugh at Jackson and Gordon’s Karaoke duet… shit.” Roxy quickly keyed the intercom over to the deck speaker. “Did I say that anyone could disembark! Get back to your office and finish the customs forms, Harry, or I’ll turn one of the shipping containers into a brig and throw you in!” Several very small figures scurried back from the lowered gangplank and aborted their attempt at early shore leave.

“Nice catch, Roxy, not sure I would have spotted them.” _Eyes just not what they used to be._

“Damn rat, ship’s not even sinking,” she muttered.

Roxy had been by his side for ten years now. If Stan Macwolf had been a betting wolf, and he was, he would have bet his mother’s last dollar that the short, timid, girl _Hell practically a kitten_ that had set foot on his bridge as an apprentice all those years ago wouldn’t last the first leg of a trip. She had spent the first week losing breakfast, lunch, and dinner over the side, and it had taken Macwolf yelling enough for both of them to get her to speak over a small frightened squeak. When they had finished unloading in Hamsterdam he hadn’t expected to see her again. Yet there she was, that morning and for every loading day. Oh, she still lost breakfast on that return trip, but the cat eventually took to the sea like, well anything other than a cat. She had steel under her light orange fur and the _Polina_ had served as the furnace. 

Two marriages, two divorces, and no pups to show for his decades on the sea. Yet somehow Roxy had become as close to a daughter as he was likely to have. She knew the ship and the sea routes almost as well as he did at this point. It had taken a bit before she got over her shyness, but once she did her creative use of vocabulary managed occasionally to shock even him. _Couldn’t be prouder if she was my own flesh and blood._

“Alright, Ms. Dawson, final checks before you have to follow through on the threats to put down an insurrection. The sun is going down and the bars of Sahara Square are open.” 

He let her take the lead through the narrow passage from the bridge down, past what served as the mess hall and out onto the open deck. Crew members big and small hurried about making final checks and securing the boat for her coming weeks in port. Roxy came up short as Milo and Melvin, the two weasel machinists, came rushing through the doorway and nearly plowed into them.

“Sorry, Captain, Ma’am,” Melvin said, tipping his hardhat towards Roxy. “Turbine 3 is acting up and we’re afraid it’s about to blow the compressor.”

“Double check the coolant and the shifters, let me know by tomorrow if you can’t get them synched,” Roxy said as the two weasels disappeared down a hatch. “Damn thing’s been nothing but trouble for months. Cap, you’ll have to replace Turbine 3 in a year at the latest, mark my words,” she said shaking her head and heading towards the stacks. 

_Oh, I don’t think I’ll be replacing anything next year._ He thought to himself as he followed behind and surveyed the ship.

To call the _Polina_ a true freighter or cargo ship would be a stretch. She was dwarfed in nearly every port by the mammoth modern shipping behemoths. His father had purchased the ship when he was still a pup and had converted her from a medium fishing trawler into what passed as a small cargo ship. What had once been tanks full of fish was now a hold of goods shipped across the world, _half of below deck is handbags from Antlerwerp_ . What she lacked in size and capacity she made up for in speed. Small and quick beats a lumbering oaf, as his dad would say. Want to get your goods to market a few days faster? Call Macwolf! Bought your wife a new car for her birthday and forgot to ship it? The _Polina_ will get it there! _Even charged that bear extra to put a ribbon on_. 

A mechanical humming overhead caught his attention as the onboard crane whirred to life and joltingly started to move into position to grab the first of the shipping containers on the top deck. A few priority rush containers would be removed tonight and the account holders charged for the quick delivery, the rest would be taken out tomorrow once the docks reopened. Despite, or more likely because of Roxy’s threats, Alexi Jackson carefully lowered the arm of the crane while waiting crew secured lines around it. 

Roxy had grabbed a clipboard and disappeared into the stack of around a dozen shipping containers stored on the top deck. “Some mangy halfwits miscounted one of these,” she muttered out of site, “label numbers don’t match the register.”

Macwolf followed at a distance into the winding maze of stacked shipping containers. This _Polina_ was the third ship to hold that name, and Macwolf figured the last. His great grandfather had sailed the first _Polina_ back when there where sails to sail with, and not much but the stars and shoddy maps to guide. That first _Polina_ was remembered in the large gold and silver pin that he wore on his jacket. The round pin held the outline of that long gone sailing ship, her two masts filled by an eternal wind as she crested silver frozen waves. His grandfather had molded the gold pin himself on the very day that he had sailed that ship for the last time. 

The ships had changed from sail to steam to gas, and from father to son to him but the name and reputation for quickness hadn’t. “If the gods are going to judge the quick and the dead, well I’d rather be amongst the quick,” he could still hear his grandfather saying. He could have, probably if he was smart _should_ have, sold her off to one of the conglomerates a decade ago but somehow that seemed a sad way to end the family name. _Still all good things…_

“Roxy! I’ve got it all set up,” a cheerful voice called from off to his left. The voice was low, as if the speaker didn’t want others to hear. _Funny thing about these metal shipping containers, they echo,_ Macwolf smiled to himself, _this should be fun to see._

“It’s got a queen large mammal bed, and a Jacuzzi! Kitten, I’ll let you…. What?”

Macwolf chose that moment to round the edge of the container and take in the sight of Roxy staring angry death towards the approaching Marcus Gordon. The mountain lion stood head and shoulders taller than Roxy but you wouldn’t know it from the way he practically skidded to a stop and shrunk back from Roxy’s furious gaze. The look of confusion turned to brief panic when he saw Macwolf step into view. He quickly snapped to attention.

“I’ll let you, ummm, know that, uhhh the rates at that place, The Karoo Oasis.. Where I, myself will be staying, are very affordable, Ms. Dawson, Ma’am.”

“Yes! Thank you, Mr. Gordon, for that information,” Roxy growled, trying desperately regain her composure. “That was what I asked you to do, check local accommodations, for the crew,” casting a quick sideways glance towards the captain.

_Remus above, do they really think I’m that blind and dumb,_ the wolf thought to himself.

“Do all of the rooms at the Karoo Oasis have queen large mammal beds, Mr. Gordon?” Macwolf asked in an even but stern tone. If they thought him dumb and blind he might as well enjoy playing the part.

“Ahh, no sir, I paid extra for the bigger bed.”

“And do all the rooms have Jacuzzis, Mr. Gordon?”

“No sir, I think that was another upgrade,” Gordon said, focusing on a point just off the captain’s left shoulder. Roxy meanwhile had suddenly developed a keen interest in examining the label of the nearest container.

“So, you’ve found a place and upgraded to the bigger bed and got yourself a Jacuzzi tub for the two weeks before we ship back out? Do I have that correct Mr. Gordon?”

“Yes, yes sir,” was all Marcus could say. Stan was impressed that Marcus now met his eyes without a hint of flinching. He held the pause for an extra beat, allowing the silence to engulf the three of them.

“Good! After so long at sea it’s worth a bit more to get out of the cramped bunks and a proper bath. Go tell the rest of the crew.”

Marcus and Roxy exchanged a confused look at this before Roxie’s eyes widened in understanding. “Sir?” Marcus hesitantly asked.

“Ms. Dawson asked you to check this Karoo Oasis as a possible place for crewman to stay, well now that you’ve done that, I want each member to know what you’ve found. Be sure every member of the crew knows about the option for larger beds and the price for the Jacuzzi upgrade.”

“And be quick about it, Mr. Gordon,” Roxie jumped in. “If it’s not done in the next hour you’ll be lucky if I don’t pull the gangplank up with you on it.” She pointed her finger and Marcus quickly jumped and scurried away to do the Chief Mate’s bidding. _Over acted it a bit girl,_ Macwolf thought, hiding a chuckle. 

Macwolf had to give the pair of them credit. It really had taken him too long to see what was clear as his snout or the stars on a clear night at sea. Sure, besides Roxy, the _Polina_ had had feline crew from time to time. Tigers, a couple lions, and even a few other cougars had all worked the deck. Still, the sayings of cats and the sea had proved true more often than not, and most had moved on after a trip or two. Marcus Gordon was now somewhere around his seventh tour on the _Polina_ and proved a more than able deck claw. It was probably the fourth trip when Macwolf realized that love of the sea may not have been the only love that brought him back.

The lingering glances that Marcus held when she walked by, or how Roxy spent extra time supervising the deck crew and always seemed be peering through the binoculars when he climbed the stacks had given way to hushed conversations and awkward pauses when Macwolf walked into a room.

Roxy had tried to cover with what Macwolf figured must at least be on the same page as the oldest trick on the book. “Mr. Gordon! Do you feed the maggots that make up your brain or are they brain dead as well?” The old fake anger and toughness on her fellow cougar had even fooled Macwolf for a time, and it seemed wherever he turned Roxy would be berating the crewman for one thing or another.

Yet young lovers tend to forget that their elders have been around the block a time or two and that small ships don’t leave a lot of spaces for secret trysts. He had nearly ended the ruse by accident last voyage one evening when he went down into the engine room. Descending the ladder his ears had picked up Roxy’s muttered curse and the shuffling of mammals in a hurry.

“If you spill one drop of hydraulic or hurt my thrusters I swear I’ll give you an oar and make you paddle us in!... Oh hi Cap,” Roxy had cheerfully said as he rounded the corner and found her standing over Marcus who was carefully refilling the hydraulics tank, _the same tank I just filled an hour ago_. Also, neither of them was wearing shoes and one of their shirts was inside out, _I’ll have to start wearing a cow’s bell on my own ship!_ He had settled for humming an old tune whenever he found himself in supposedly deserted parts of the ship. They had only grown bolder on this last trip, three times he had ventured into the stacks late at night and swore he heard soft whispering voices or seen two darting shadows. He had finally given up and let the lovers have their “secret” space. 

Oh, he should have been mad. Insubordination, fraternization with crew, all bad for maintaining a seaworthy ship and against a century of regulation and practice. _Howl it to the devil for all I care,_ he thought. Maybe he had gone soft in his old age but seeing Roxy happy and with an extra bounce in her step didn’t seem like a bad thing. Besides, she could certainly do a lot worse than pairing off with someone apparently willing to be yelled at all day for the pleasure of quiet sneaking at night. Still it seemed that the fakery was wearing thin on both ends and after this long it clearly wasn’t some seasonal fling.

The next hour was spent doing final checks, and releasing members of the crew a few at a time as they completed preparing the _Polina_ for unloading and the two weeks in port. Macwolf made good on his threat and stopped several crewmen and asked them if they had heard about the Jacuzzi option at the Karoo Oasis.

“I’m surrounded by water, for weeks at a time, and now you want me to risk drowning in more!” Harry, their ships purser muttered as he scurried off the ship, the rat soon disappearing into the lengthening shadows. Finally, Macwolf was left with just the two secret amorous cats aboard. _One last bit of fun for an old captain_ he thought to himself. Roxy was below deck still checking and rechecking the cargo manifest for errors when Macwolf called Marcus into the wheelhouse. He entered the wheelhouse and handed his captain the latest city newspaper, _City Mayor arrested in wide ranging conspiracy!_ The headline declared.

“ So that Lionheart finally managed to bite his own tail off?” Macwolf commented before looking further down the article “ Wait...what?” he said as his eyes landed on the photo of an angry sheep sitting in a jail cell.

“ Yeah, looks like it’s been an interesting few months since the last time we docked in the city.” Marcus said

Stan just shook his head. Just when he thought that this city couldn’t get any stranger.

“You’ve been on the _Polina_ for a while now Mr. Gordon. Six trips now back and forth from Zootopia?” he said with his back to the cougar, looking out the window and over the dark deck.

“Nine, sir,” Marcus answered, his voice holding just a trace of his nervousness.

“More than most felines can claim, if you’ll forgive me for trading in species stereotypes.”

“Ahh, yes sir, not many cougars on the sea. Well, Rox… Ms. Dawson,” he quickly corrected.

“Yes, and you’ve proven yourself an able and impressive member of our crew. It’s actually Ms. Dawson that I wanted to discuss with you Mr. Gordon.” Macwolf turned around to face Marcus in time to see his eyes go wide and his jaw clench.

“It’s my fault really,” Macwolf began, holding his hands up in the air. “She’s served with me so long that I view her as family, hell, I’d personally kill anyone that hurt her…. And maybe that’s blinded me to what’s been going on.”

“I can explain captain, see I’m the..” but Macwolf interrupted.

“She’s hard on all the crew, but clearly her treatment of you borders on abusive. I don’t know if it’s you, Mr. Gordon, or if she just resents another cougar being a successful sailor. I should have stepped in and put an end to it before now. I’m afraid that I don’t see a good solution to it other than to separate you. But I promise it will be to your benefit.”

Marcus stood with his mouth falling open and his brow furrowing and unfurrowing amazingly quickly.

“Separate us!?” He sputtered out, interrupting the old wolf. “Sir, yes she can be tough but she has served as ahh.. a good teacher of the ship.”

“That may be true, Mr. Gordon, but she does appear to unfairly target you. I’ve made inquiries and the _Aurora_ is docked here in Zootopia and with need of a new deck chief.”

“The _Aurora_ sir? But she—”

“Oh, our biggest rival sure, still, Captain Mawson is a good enough fellow. It would mean a very nice pay bump and you would have crew mammals reporting to you for a change. Chance to be in command, and no more Roxy yelling at you.”

“Captain, thank you, but I respectfully decline. I’d prefer to continue aboard the _Polina,_ yelling Roxy or not. Don’t think I would like it as much aboard the _Aurora_ or any other ship, sort of hard to explain. If you’ll still have me aboard that is, sir,” he finished, nervously glancing down towards his paws and around the cabin.

 _Well, that proves it Roxy, you’ve got good taste in mates, better than I ever did at least_. He smiled to himself. Not everyone would turn down the promotion and pay raise to stay with a mate. He thought back to the envelope on his desk, sometimes the stars really did line up.

“No, it’s not hard to explain at all, I think you’ll always find a home aboard the _Polina._ ”

The sound of paws climbing the stairwell from the lower decks to the wheelhouse brought his attention back to Marcus.

“So, you believe that you could work even more closely with Ms. Dawson?”

“Well, yes sir, I don’t think that would be a problem.”

Roxy rounded the corner to find the curious site of Marcus and the Captain both regarding her, Marcus with a look of relief, and Captain Stan with a barely suppressed smirk.

“Am I interrupting something here, Cap?” she asked, waving a clipboard in her right paw.

“No, Roxy, this concerns you as well, I was just discussing with Mr. Gordon his future here on the ship.”

Now it was Roxy’s turn to look concerned. “Oh?” she asked nonchalantly, her interest rapidly turning to the manifest she was holding. 

“Yes, and I hope the two of you can put aside whatever animosity you have for each other.” Roxy and Marcus both shot sideways looks at each other. “Mr. Gordon here will be the new _Polina_ bosun when we leave port in two weeks. He’ll report directly to you, Roxy.”

The stunned look of shock and surprise on their faces was nearly payment enough to make the whole thing worthwhile for Macwolf. Roxy looked back and forth between Marcus and Stan, while Marcus kept opening and closing his muzzle, neither one of them apparently remembering how to speak.

“Bosun sir? But, I didn’t—” Macwolf cut him off midsentence.

“Have proved yourself more than capable, you’ve earned the crew’s respect and I trust you to raise to this challenge.” He turned towards the still stunned Roxy. “Now I was just saying to Mr. Gordon that I worry that the two of you need to work on your professional relationship. Roxy, if Mr. Gordon is going to be working under you, I suggest you take a gentler approach.”

It had been years since he had seen Roxy blush, but her ears were now about the same shade as a fresh tomato. Marcus was overtaken by a sudden coughing fit and couldn’t meet either of them in the eye. A small smirk managed to break through Macwolf’s attempt at a stern exterior, only a quick grin, but Roxy’s eyes flashed in suspicion.

“Yes Cap, I think we can find a way to work together,” she said, her teeth suddenly clenching.

“Good, and I think I will be joining you all at the bar later, lots of things to catch up on.

Mr. Gordon perhaps you could wait outside and escort Ms. Dawson while I finish up here. Give you guys a chance to get to know each other outside the ship. Besides, the dockyards aren’t the safest area of the city at this hour.”

“Yes, Captain Sir, and thank you for the honor. I’ll be just on the pier, Roxy, when you’re done… ma’am.” Marcus, eager for the chance to escape, moved for the exit but not before Stan caught the smile that passed between him and Roxy. Roxy watched him head down the stairs as a sudden silence filled the wheelhouse. Macwolf looked out the windows over the shadowy ship that had served as his home for nearly fifty years, illuminated now by a few electric lights and the glow of the city behind them. They both watched in silence as Marcus walked off the gangplank and took up position under one of the lights that dotted the pier.

Finally, it was Macwolf who broke the silence with a small chuckle that turned into a full laugh when he saw Roxy’s face flash with embarrassed anger.

“You bastard! How long?!” she yelled, her voice a mix of anger and maybe a note of relief.

“How long! I should ask you how long did you think I was blind and dumb on my own ship?”

“So you knew? I swore we were careful.”

“Well most of my crew are known to wear shoes in the engine room.”

Roxy’s brow furrowed as she tried to remember. “And you generally have the good habit of wearing your clothes with the tags on the inside.” Roxy’s eyes widened as she remembered what she thought was a close call all those months ago.

“Oh gods, that long?” her voice fell and suddenly she couldn’t meet Stan’s eyes. “I didn’t mean for it to happen, I know it’s wrong, Hell below, he even tried to end it,” she said, starting to pace around the bridge in agitation, her tail quickly twitching back and forth. “I take full responsibility. He’s a good sailor, Stan, and this is my fault.”

Macwolf watched as his flustered Chief Mate continued to pace and struggle with her apparent shame.

“He turned down the _Aurora_ for you, Roxy,” he said softly. Roxy stopped in her tracks and looked back, a look of confusion mixed with a smile.

“He did what?”

“Captain Mawson radioed this afternoon looking for a new bosun. I offered it to Marcus just five minutes ago. Turned it down without a thought. Said something about not wanting to leave this ship.”

Her shoulders sagged and a grin spread across her face as she looked out the large windows of the bridge towards the figure of Marcus, outlined in the darkness and slowly pacing the dock back and forth. 

“The goof,” she said her grin spreading from ear to ear.

“He is a good sailor, and he’ll make a good bosun, forgive me for my own little test to see if he’s good enough for you.”

“And does he pass this test, oh captain my captain?” Roxy said. She had recovered from embarrassment and now seemed ready to inflect revenge. Macwolf allowed himself a smile.

“I’ve seen relationships sour quickly on a ship, you’ve seen how even small bickering between crew can hurt morale, how do you think a fight between lovers goes? Can’t take a day to cool off your claws and avoid each other when the wind is coming and the waves crest the deck. So is he worth it?”

Roxy was quiet for a moment, still staring out the window. “Yeah,” she finally answered. “Yes, he is. I know why it’s a bad idea so you can save the lecture,” she said, turning away from him. “Remus drag me to hell, but I love him, Stan, even if it’s bad for crew cohesion, morale and if...”

“Then you’ll make it work,” Macwolf interrupted. Roxy looked up in surprise, her ears perked. “Would I have played dumb this long if I thought you wouldn’t handle it or it risked the ship?”

“I just figured that you would view it as a mistake and poor life judgement.”

Stan shrugged. “And it might just be, but then again I chose to spend my life sailing this rusty tub from one end of the world to the other.” He thought for a moment before continuing. “Do you remember that first trip around Horn Cape?” 

She did, of course. Not many sailors forget their first trip around the infamous Horn Cape and her stormy sea. The storms that year had been the worst that Captain Macwolf could remember. Roxy had been aboard some four months and had finally found her sea footing, but the waves and the wind that day would challenge the stomach of any mammal afloat. The _Polina_ was tossed, little more than a cub’s bath toy, by waves that stretched beyond and above the horizon. Macwolf’s hands fused to the controls trying to keep the ship heading straight while judging the cresting waves.

Roxy, holding onto the railing and trying desperately to stay upright, had made her way up to the bridge and stood... well, tried to stand along the back wall, looking out at the mountainous waves just as one crashed down onto the deck and into the wheelhouse with the force of a massive fist. The _Polina_ groaned as her bow slowly lifted out of the water, only to disappear again as wave after wave crashed down as if the sea itself was attempting to pull her down. 

“I’m not much for praying Roxy, but that night might have been the closest I’ve come to joining the priesthood. Yet I look behind me, see you standing right over there,” he gestured towards the railing that ran along the back of the room, “grinning like we were just taking a spin on a carnival ride! You stood there watching for the next five hours and I figured out right there that you were either crazy, an idiot, or both and cursed to be a sailor.”

Roxy let out a snort “I was scared shitless, Cap, if you must know. I guess I wanted to be able to see what was happening. If I was going to die I at least wanted to see the wave that drowned us. Not just be cowering in my bunk with the rest.”

“Oh, I’d have been more worried if you weren’t scared, but that night I saw you grin at the devil himself.” He smiled as he imagined the image. “My point is, I’ve known you a long time and you don’t back down from a challenge. If you decide that you and Marcus are worth the work, then gods drown anyone who stands in your way.”

The last of her tension seemed to fade at his words. She wouldn’t admit it to him, but it did mean a lot to her to have his approval. “Thanks Cap, you know... I think you’ll like Marcus once you know him better. Bosun duties aside.”

“Well, give me a bit to finish up here. Get out of here and I’ll meet you both at the Hoppy Pouch for that drink in an hour. Chat over a thing or two, but I’ll leave any singing to others.”

“Aye aye, Captain,” she said in her best mock jovial voice, waving her right arm in what might pass as a salute if one was drunk and squinting. She was half out the door before she grunted, turned back, and retrieved the clipboard she had carried in earlier.

“Can’t rest yet, Cap, something really is off with one of those damn containers. Our Logbook doesn’t match the customs register they sent over. I’ve checked everything below deck and half of the stacks, so it’s got to be one of the containers up by the bow.” She turned to go clipboard in hand, but Macwolf put a paw on her shoulder.

“Go, leave that to me to finish up, you already run this ship as it is. Besides,” he added with a wink, “I figure you and Mr. Gordon have already spent enough nights out in the Stacks for one trip.”

“Huh? But Cap, we never…” but Macwolf had already taken the clipboard and cut her off.

“Think I didn’t see you out there? At least now I won’t have to tip toe around the deck. Now get out before I change my mind.”

“I swear, we never...”

“Go! The _Polina_ will still be waiting for you and I’ll see you both in an hour.”

Roxy gave up on the strange argument. “Alright Stan, we’ll save you a seat. Just don’t take too long,” she said, smiling at Captain Macwolf as she headed for the door.

“Oh, I’ll be quick. I know that a drink with me doesn’t compare to the fine accommodations offered by the Karoo Oasis. I’ve heard they even offer an optional Jacuzzi!”

The glower she shot him caused him to break out in a howl of laughter that would make his ancestors proud. He was still grinning as he watched Roxy cross the gangplank towards the waiting Marcus. Without even breaking stride she hooked an arm up around his back and pulled him down into a kiss, the two of them spotlighted in the dark by a lamppost. Macwolf opened one of the deckhouse windows and let out a quick sharp whistle. Marcus froze, looking back towards the ship’s wheelhouse and the figure of Captain Macwolf. Roxy just made a rude gesture and with a gentle tug pulled Marcus down the pier, both walking arm in arm. She took a quick look back and saw Stan still standing in the window waving at them, the sound of his laughter echoing over the quiet dock. It was a sight she would always remember, and eventually even cherish.

Macwolf watched until the two figures has disappeared into the darkness. He may have lived up to the cliché of the lonely ship captain, but it was nice to think that it might not be an actual job requirement. _No time like the present,_ he thought, the last hint of doubt drained away. It was time to finish what he had intended and the stars seemed to have lined up.

_….’Every time you round Horn Cape’_

Macwolf grunted as he put down the old fountain pen _Good enough for now_ and folded up the paper and stuffed it into the large white folder along with its other contents. It had taken him longer to finish than he had expected and he would have to hurry up to make it to the Hoppy Pouch. The envelope sealed and placed in the top draw of his desk, he grabbed the clipboard with the ships manifest and took one last look around the wheelhouse. He shouldered a grey duffel bag, flicked off the lights, and descended the stairwell onto the deck.

The ship was dark except for a few inset lamps along the railing, casting the stacks into long sharp shadows. Stan needed no other lights to aid his still keen night vision. Overhead only a few of the brightest stars could be seen shining out over the city. He had practically grown up onboard _Polina_ , leaping from one shipping container to another while his father watched from the bridge. Now his knees gave a slight sore twinge just thinking about those times.

Entering the canyon between the towering stacks he began to check the manifest against the labels attached to each container. He prided himself on running a tight ship but had lost count of the times a dockworker or clerk with a fat paw pad had attached the wrong label. Still, Stan enjoyed these rare times when he truly had the old ship to himself without the normal hustle and slightly controlled chaos that was the open sea.

“ _It’s a damn tough life full of toil and strife us sailors undergo_

_And we don’t give a damn when the gale is done how hard the winds did blow”_

He sang the old tune low and slow just as he remembered his father and grandfather singing. Roxy would roll her eyes, but someone had to sing the old sea songs

_“Cause we’re homeward bound from the fishing grounds_

_With a good ship, taut and free._

_And we won’t give a damn when we drink our rum with the girls of old meoweee”_

He moved further into the stacks towards the bow. _Roxy did say it must be one of the ones here somewhere._ He was down to the last half dozen containers.

_“Rolling down to old meoweee me boys,_

_Rolling down to old meoweee_

_We’re homeward bound from our fishing grounds_

_Rolling down to old meoweee”_

The last verse echoed off the containers in the darkness like a ghostly chorus. Macwolf looked up towards the few stars faintly visible that twinkled just a little brighter in silent appreciation. _At least they appreciate my music._

Finally, his eyes landed on the light blue metal container at the end of the row. On the side of every container a registry number was attached, yet flipping through the manifest Macwolf scowled, unable to find a match. His scowled deepened when he reached the last page. According to the form this container was offloaded in Antlerwerp nearly three weeks ago, but apparently, the container hadn’t gotten the memo. 

He reached the container and let out a small growl when he saw the reason. It was subtle, the paint was nearly a perfect match to the container’s original blue, but looking closely Macwolf could still faintly make out the original registry number bleeding through from where it had been painted over. Macwolf gave a small shudder. He had been in this business long enough and had seen and even known his share of smugglers. Be it drugs, weapons, or worse, someone had gone to some lengths to hide whatever was inside.

Rounding the container, he was meet by another surprise. The door was slightly ajar, revealing a glimpse of its dark interior. Macwolf peered towards the crack of the door. He would have to call into the dock’s customs offices and maybe even the ZPD. He hated to think of the paperwork and interview that would follow. Still, most of it could wait till tomorrow and the Hoppy Pouch still awaited him tonight.

He had already turned and started to leave when his large ears perked at the sound of a soft rustling coming from the depths of the container. _Just forget it and go, don’t look, you dumb wolf._ But he was already half way back to the container. No one was going to try and pull something over him on his ship and get away from it. Quieting his small voice of caution, he opened the door and stepped inside

A sudden bright beam of light blinded him. He held up his hands to block the light and shield his eyes while taking a step backwards nearly tripping over the container’s threshold.

“Oh! Sorry, umm, I know I’m not supposed to be here,” a small voice called from the darkness. The light lowered and Macwolf blinked, trying to regain his vision. A pair of blue eyes stared back at him from the darkness. His heart pounding in surprise and still half blinded, Macwolf could just make out the shape of a young, pitch black leopard sitting on a small cot holding a flashlight. _Ship is full of damn cats these days_. He quickly took in the scene. Besides the cot were an assortment of crumpled bags and wrappers along with a large green footlocker at the top of the cot.

The girl couldn’t have been much past her teenage years and from the way her hands were shaking was clearly terrified.

“Who are you, girl? Not going to hurt you, you’re safe,” he said, trying to sound reassuring. Stan had seen many things on the sea, but this would make his first honest to gods stowaway. He’s only seen a few black leopards, come to think of it.

“Saraz, sir, please just let me go, I didn’t want to cause any trouble,” her voice nearly breaking in fear.

His own fear subsided and his curiosity took over. “Calm down, Saraz, no one is getting hurt. What the hell you doing, living in here?”

Saraz gave a small shrug of her shoulder. “Trying to get away. Figure Zootopia’s supposed to be the place, right? So how about you just let me go, please? I promise I didn’t steal nothing and you don’t have to tell anyone, right?”

Macwolf stared at the blue eyes in the sea of blackness. “Sorry girl, but I’m sure your parents are worried sick about you. Come with me, we’ll get you some decent food and I’ll make some calls.”

“No!” she shouted with a sudden ferocity. “I’ve got some money here,” she said rustling in one of the bags. “How about I give you some of that and we just call it even, no need to involve anyone else.” She pulled out a surprisingly thick stack of bills. _What’s a young stowaway doing with a wad of cash like that,_ he wondered.

“You know, you’re not the first to try and bribe me and it didn’t work for any of them. Come on, I’ll make sure you’re in no trouble from my end at least,” he said, walking back to the entrance on the container before turning back and motioning for Saraz to follow. 

Several things happened all at once. His night vision recovering from the flashlights beam caught sight of the second cot against the far end of the container. His mind flashed back – _It was two dark figures that I saw out in the stacks at night_ – at the same time his ears registered the muted thud of paw pads landing behind him.

He started to turn when he saw a flash in the in the corner of his eyes and felt a thin itching sensation spread below his muzzle. He spun around, and found himself nearly snout to nose with a pair of deep red eyes set into the gold and black patchwork of a leopard’s face.

“What the freaki.. di..” but the rest of the sentence came out as a wheezing sputter. The itch around his neck turned into a burning. The leopard in front of him just gave a small shrug while wiping off her extended claws.

“Sorry, Captain, you really should have just taken the money.” Saraz’s voice came from behind, now holding none of the fear or timidity of moments before.

Stan Macwolf pulled his paw away from his neck. It was wet and dark crimson in the shadowy light. He tried to take a step but stumbled. He grabbed onto the mysterious leopard and tried to pull himself upright, slow realization entering his shocked mind. The red-eyed leopard just pushed his paw aside. With a grunt Macwolf threw himself at her, his own claws briefly digging into her shoulder. Letting out a pained hiss she shoved him away and Macwolf fell back and slid on the deck.

He tried to stand but all the energy was draining from his body and a warm stillness moving up from his legs. _Guess I’m going to miss that drink after all,_ he thought as he watched the two figures moving out from the cargo container. Looking skyward it seemed like he could see more stars than normal over the city. _I owe Roxy an apology, guess Marcus will…_ but the rest of his thoughts were interrupted as the stars overhead seemed to glow brighter and brighter…

The sisters looked down at the body. “So much for quietly sneaking into the city,” Ruby commented while wrapping a bandage onto her shoulder.

“Not my fault the old mutt couldn’t leave it alone. His damn songs are going to be stuck in my head for weeks,” Saraz said, starting to gather up their scattered bags and belongs out of the container. 

“I did like the one with the smell of flowers,” Ruby tried to hum the tune.

Saraz chuckled. “Didn’t the captain die in that one also?” she said with a grin as she reached town towards the body and removed the large gold emblem pinned to his jacket.

“What are you doing?” Ruby asked suddenly stern, her tail curled and swishing.

“Well, it’s not like he needs it,” Saraz stammered, turning the emblazoned golden ship over in her paw. “It’s pretty, and an antique like this could get a decent price if we...”

Speaking quietly but with force. “Put it back. Our parents didn’t raise thieves and I’ll be damned if I’ve not taught you better,” Ruby said glaring at her younger sister.

“Fine, fine,” Saraz said with a whine before tucking the pin into the captains breast pocket. “So, what are we going to do with…?” she said gesturing down.

Ruby thought for a few moments while looking around. “Ok, be careful, get all the samples into the backpack,” she said gesturing towards the footlocker.

Ten minutes later the large green footlocker splashed off the back of the _Polina_ and disappeared under the gentle harbor waves. While the stars watching overhead, two figures slipped off the ship into the darkness of the docks. The _Polina_ sat silently in the water, waiting.


	2. See you later Slick

Despite his constant bluster, Judy could tell that the quick talking fox was getting nervous as her patrol car wove through the city streets towards the gate.

“You know there was a time, Carrots, when riding in one of these things would mean I couldn’t show my face. Well, riding in the front seat, at least,” he said with a smirk, his feet up on the dash “And now you want a fox to be driving one of these zebramobiles? There goes the neighborhood!”

Judy smiled and rolled her eyes as the Zootopia Police Academy came into view. It had taken a bit of pushing on her part to get Nick to turn in the application, and a bit more pushing for Chief Bogo to sign an expedited academy sponsorship, but now four months after their Night Howler adventure, Nick was officially enrolled. Helping save the city did cut down on red tape.

“Trust, Integrity, Bravery, blah blah blah, all neat words for a motto. I wonder how much they paid the marketing team to come up with that one. Some llama in Sahara Square probably put his kids through college on it.” Nick continued staring out the window. He seemed to be talking even faster now that they had arrived in the parking lot.

“Aww, is the brave fox nervous on his first day of school?” Judy said in a mocking but not unkind voice. She remembered her own nerves going under those arches not that long ago. Heck, that stupid ice climbing wall still gave her nightmares. She could sense the edge of anxiety in her friend’s voice even if he did his best to hide it.

“Nah, give it a week and they’ll name the place after me,” Nick said as they jumped down from the oversized squad car. Nick grabbed a duffel out of the back and slung it over his shoulder. He held out his paws as if framing a shot “My statue will go just to the left of the entrance arch.”

“Sorry, Slick, but I think you’ll have to get in line behind me. I’ve got my eye on naming rights for at least two of the dorms,” Judy laughed, waving her arms towards the campus. They slowly started walking towards the entrance. “Now, did you pack enough underwear, socks, a toothbrush? I forgot to pack toothpaste… Oh, and don’t forget to check in at the dorm early, single rooms go quick.”

“I’ve got it, Mother Carrots, I’ve got it. Now let me go before I change my mind on this whole cottontail idea.” They stood awkwardly for a moment. Nick turned to go but suddenly found two small arms wrapped around his middle. Her head met his chest, his snout rested on her head.

“Be careful in there, ok?” Nick was surprised to hear the tenderness in her voice.

“Careful, Fluff, you’re making me think you might just miss me,” Nick said, returning the surprisingly warm embrace. After another moment, the bunny pulled back and punched him in the arm, hard.

“Miss you? I just don’t want anyone in there to break my partner before I get the chance,” she said, starting to walk back to her car with a bounce in her step.

“Remind me not to actually piss you off, Hopps,” Nick said rubbing his shoulder. “You’ve got a mean right hook.”

“Talk to Rufus, the rhino you’ll spar with. He’ll tell you about my right foot,” Judy said, reaching the car and hopping up into the driver’s seat. Turning back, she yelled through the window. “Oh, and make a list of Sargent Friedkin’s nicknames, I am definitely going to need those later.” Laughing, she fired up the car and sped away.

Still rubbing his arm Nick found himself putting his bag down and staring up at the imposing brick and steel academy archway. Built to accommodate rhinos, elephants, polar bears and other large mammals meant that the small red fox felt very small indeed. Just then the ground rumbled as a large bison in uniform walked by, giving Nick a curious but wary look. Nick just stood there with a small but annoyingly persistent voice in his head repeating _no one would blame you if you just turned around. Hell, even Judy would understand, just going to disappoint her and everyone else when you fail_. It was so tempting right then to just slip away into the city, another shifty fox in the crowd.

“Nope, not today,” he said out loud to no one as he picked up the bag and went through the arch. Besides, if that annoyingly persistent bunny could do it then surely Nick could. Silencing the last of his inner doubts, Nick Wilde put on his best impression of confidence and strode onto the grounds.

Judy had in fact not sped off. Slowly rounding the bend in the road, she pulled out a pair of binoculars and watched Nick standing at the gate. “Come on, Nick, don’t stop now,” she muttered to herself, reading the fox’s body language and second thoughts even from a distance. She hoped that Nick hadn’t noticed the tear forming in her eye; the punch had been a good distraction at least. She let out a small cheer as he crossed the threshold. Six months of training and yes, yes, she was going to miss that fox and her first friend, but there was always free time on the weekend. While Nick got to have fun and games at the Academy, someone had to protect the city.


	3. New Partners and Old Offices

Chief Bogo pushed aside his reading glasses to rub his eyes. Hours on end of sitting in his office looking over a seemingly never-ending stack of paperwork and reports left his eyes strained. He was relying on the damn glasses more and more. Tedious at the best of times, the explosion of paperwork, forms, press releases, and public relations events that had followed the Night Howler Incident continued to roll in day after day. So, a psychotic sheep had developed a drug that turned mammals savage in an attempt to force a Predator/Prey war, yep, that’s a really bad day in Zootopia. Oh, that psychotic sheep was the vice mayor of the city? And the actual mayor was arrested for trying to cover it all up? Yeah, not a great way to build trust in government leadership. _And all I did was tell her to write parking tickets!!_ Bogo thought with a tired smile.

The knock at his door offered him some relief, and Benjamin Clawhauser opened the door. The roundish cheetah couldn’t claim to be much of a street officer, but he offered a friendly face at reception, and right now Bogo needed more friendly faces. Besides, Bogo always suspected that the large cat was just a little bit smarter and more perceptive than he let on.

“Bullpen’s full and awaiting your command, chief. Also that squirrel from city forensics called again for a meeting, persistent little dickens, isn’t she? I ought to introduce her to my Aunt Brenda, she always says that the doctors give up too quickly when she’s telling them what’s wrong with her, this one time she had a headache for a whole week and—”

“IS that all, Clawhouser?” Bogo interrupted as he gathered up a stack of files and headed for the door.

“Oh nooo, chief, there were actually a lot of things wrong with Aunt Brenda. She had this one spot, well, she had lots of spots as a cheetah, but this one that looked like a porcupine and—” The hefty cheetah finally caught the look on Chief Bogo’s face. “Oh, right, yes, well, you do need to assign Hopps another partner rotation. She finished with Francine yesterday.”

Traditionally, new ZPD officers spent some time rotating amongst more experienced officers and assignments. A month of patrol with officer Delgato in Sahara Square would teach you many things, but not how to deal with a canopy collapse in the rainforest district. The academy did its best to train all officers to operate in all conditions, but a degree of specialization was inevitable and sometimes invaluable. Due to her rather unique situation, Hopps had seen her rotations speed up. ‘ _The higher ups know no other officer is going to give that fox a chance._ ’

“Well, maybe it’s time we throw our bunny into the deep end,” Bogo said stepping out of his office and heading towards the bullpen. “Radio Russano and let him know he’s going to have some company for a while, so he should actually be in his office today.”

“Russano!” Clawhouser said with a squeak of surprise. “You’re going to give the bunny to Stonepaw? Sir, as if the night howlers weren’t enough, you want her to survive that old badger?”

“Yep” was his simple response. _She and that fox will have to deal with far worse soon enough._

Judy scrambled up to her customary seat at the front table for the daily brief. She had enjoyed her time with Francine despite the fact she was starting to develop a crick in her neck from looking up at the elephant. Living as a smaller mammal could sometimes give the impression that life must be simpler for the larger types, but a few weeks working with Francine and watching her navigate crowded streets without leaving a crushed ferret or mole behind proved that bigger wasn’t always better. _Well, until you need a door knocked down. Elephants are handy for that,_ she thought to herself. Still the large elephant could be remarkably nimble.

The thunder of paws, hooves, and growls brought Judy’s attention back to the door as Chief Bogo came into the briefing room. Judy slapped the table herself a few times in solidarity. 

“All right, settle down!” he grumbled. Both the ruckus and Bogo’s feigned distaste for it were long established procedure. 

“Listen up, looks like it’s another day in paradise for us. Got a prey rights march next week coming down Kinabalu Street. Francine, you’ll be working with two officers from Precinct 3. I don’t want any repeat of the smashed windows like last time.” Adjusting his small glasses, Bogo continued. “Snarlov, Grizolli, we’ve got reports of break ins in Tundra Town, high end electronics and cooling systems.”

Judy listened as Bogo assigned everyone in the room. _It’s like the first day all over again,_ she thought in puzzlement as the room cleared out. She had hoped that along with cracking the missing mammals case and saving the city from a power-hungry sheep, the respect of her fellow officers would naturally follow. Sure, there were fewer looks of outright hostility and more of amused curiosity, but Judy still caught the looks and eye rolls that followed her through the Precinct halls. _Hell, even that car thief started laughing when I cuffed him_. Climb one hill and another awaits.

“Sir?” Judy called as Chief Bogo started to walk out of the room. “You seem to have forgotten one officer.” She had to walk quickly, almost bouncing as she followed him out into the hall.

“Oh, I didn’t forget you, Hopps. Till my dying day, I won’t forget you. I’m naming my carpal tunnel after you and the fox.” His tone was characteristically gruff, still Judy suspected that he was one of the few in the station who’s respect she had earned, somewhat.

“Besides exposing a conspiracy that has decapitated our city’s leadership, bungling a press conference, and nearly setting back interspecies relationships by decades, you’ve proven to be an adequate officer, so it’s about time we take the training wheels off.”

“Thank you for the praise, sir, I think. So does this mean no more rotations, full assignment?”

“Nope. Not just yet,” was all Bogo would say, heading downstairs towards the old basement.

“I’m ready, sir! I don’t need another babysitter.” They were in the oldest part of ZPD Headquarters now, far below the newer glittery public entrance hall. Looking around, Judy wasn’t sure she had even been down into these mostly dark offices. Winding around another corner Judy nearly ran into Bogo, who had stopped in front of an old wooden door. Its label had long rusted, or fallen off.

“One last partner to season you up, Hopps. Besides, if the fox makes it through the academy he’ll need a partner with fewer rough edges.”

“When he makes it, Chief.”

Bogo shrugged and swung open the door. “Russano, I’ve brought you a bunny.”

The office was sparse. A mostly empty bookshelf ran along one wall and a few metal filing cabinets took up the back. A large desk and a few upholstered seats sat in the middle of the room, but it was the large badger who drew Judy’s attention. With fur that may have once been black but was now turned grey except for one midnight black circle around his right eye, Russano appeared to be an officer who had simply been too busy to attend his own retirement.

“Bogo… we have an agreement,” the badger said, his voice low but resonant, his eyes locked with the buffalo.

“She doesn’t have time for the usual training… you know what’s she’ll face out there better than anyone,” Bogo said, not breaking eye contact.

“I’m Judy. I can hold my own if you haven't noticed,” she said striding forward her paw outstretched towards the badger hoping to break the tension. Neither looked down at her.

“And when they peel this one off the street, if there is even that much left?” Russano asked not bothering to glance at Judy. The badger loomed over Judy but was himself dwarfed by the Cape buffalo. Yet glancing between them it struck Judy that she was witnessing a metaphorical horn locking of two equals. To her surprise, it was Chief Bogo who broke eye contact and glanced away.

“Russano, please, I don’t have any great options. It’s not like I bother you a whole lot down here,” he gestured around the old office. “I have to ask the maintenance zebras to check that you’re still alive.”

Russano let out a grunt that may have kindly been called a chuckle before finally glancing down at the bunny standing between the two of them. “So this is the shining light of tomorrow, huh? Got the lion and the lamb to lie down and share a prison cell, saved the city?”

“Well, I had help, but yeah, we took down Bellwether,” Judy said. This day was turning out to be a bit more complicated than she had expected. “And yeah, I suppose we did something to save this city,” Judy finished, stubbornly meeting the badger’s eyes. If this was another test she sure as hell was going to pass it.

“Don’t see why you bothered.” Russano fixed his stone-eyed gaze on Judy, and now it was her turn to lock horns with the old badger. Trying to put on her most determined look Judy stared back into the black pools of his eyes. Searching her face for what felt like minutes, Russano apparently found what he wanted.

“Change into civvies, loading dock in twenty minutes or I leave you behind,” he said, turning his back on them both and walking towards his desk. Judy glanced up as Bogo let out a small sigh of relief.

“Dismissed, Hopps, and I suggest you be there early.”

Judy didn’t need any more prompting to hurry out of that basement office. She’d have to ask Clawhouser where the hell the loading dock was.

“I think this one might surprise you. Not a lot of fear in her,” Bogo said to his old comrade as he walked out the door.

“And that’s why she’ll get herself or someone else killed,” Russano muttered after him.

Alone again in his office, Russano sat down and let out a long exhale before looking up towards a spot on the top of his bookshelf, only then did a small tired smile form.

“Fine, one last time…. again.”


	4. How to Make Friends and Annoy Mammals

Nick Wilde had never been particularly fond of heights, and so it should have been a good thing that he was nearing the ground. The unfortunate part was the speed at which the ground was nearing him. With a sucking plop, the fox landed, and sank face first into the deep mud.

“You’re dead, Cinnamon!” Sargent Friedkin called from the sideline. “Now get your dirty fur out of my nice mud and get back up there,” she ordered, gesturing back up to the rope crossing above. Taking a moment to wipe the mud from his face, Nick put on his best forced grin as he passed the polar bear on the way back up the steps. _Just don’t look down this time, stupid._

“Have to say it’s an improvement, the dirt suits you,” a voice from behind him called. “You should have stayed down there longer, fox.” Nick didn’t need to turn around to recognize the moose’s voice. Muja had taken it upon himself to be the fox’s tormentor for the week.

“Funny, I think your sister said the same thing,” Nick called back as he neared the edge of the platform.

A lazy quip to be sure, but right now he was focused on getting across with at least some of his fur and dignity left. Meant to simulate the bridges and vines of the rainforest district, the wood and rope rungs hung high above a wide pit of mud. Nick was not the only trainee to be covered in mud, but most had reached the far platform and were scrambling down. _Just don’t look down this time, you stupid fox,_ he told himself. Taking three quick steps he sprang up and grabbed the first bar and allowed his momentum to carry him forward while reaching out for the next. _Just like the old play yard sets… just much higher… don’t look down,_ he repeated the last part to himself as a rhythm, swing, reach, grab, repeat, swing, reach, grab, repeat and repeat. Just when his arms were begging to give in he found himself stumbling onto the far platform. The whole thing reminded him a little too much of that night in the rainforest district, chased by a panther, nearly falling to his death. _I’ll never let Cotton Tail know but that was the worst part of the whole thing._

“Rose Tail, you going to admire the view or are you going to join the rest of us?” Friedkin’s voice came from below.

“Better wash up good tonight, fox, I don’t want to be smelling your stink in the dorms.” Muja’s voice coming over the distance. Nick turned and watched as the surprisingly athletic prey mammal began his swings across the rope ladder bridge. Muja’s insults were nothing new to Nick, and honestly the most annoying part was how unoriginal they were. _Convinced myself that it might be different once I got here. Yeah, it’s not fair_. Looking around, Nick confirmed that he was alone on the high platform. Walking towards the ladder to go down, and shielded by his tail, his left leg kicked out at one of the wooden support pillars that anchored the rope ladder. The bridge shook and Nick heard a startled grunt followed a second later by a satisfying plop.

_Yeah, it’s not fair, but then again, neither am I._

Half an hour later the assembled recruits stood shivering while artificial snow swirling around their feet and an impressive ice wall looming ahead.

“Tundra Town’s not just a winter wonderland. Ice walls, hundred foot crevices, avalanches! One wrong slip turns you into a popsicle and you’re dead!” Having reminded them of their mortality for the twelfth time that afternoon, Sargent Friedkin gestured her massive paws towards the ice and snow crusted wall. “Climb my little wall here and you ladies can go clean up and get a hot meal in you. First over gets first shower and food.”

Nick only had to glance around or sniff the air to detect the dirt and grim covering the recruits. _First shower and probably the last with hot water in that old building_ . Nick thought to himself. _And it would be nice to get this mud out_. 

Unfortunately for the fox this realization was not his alone. In seconds the other recruits were sprinting towards the wall. The first to reach it was Sutaro, the jaguar. Leaping onto the wall, she pressed herself flat against its surface and attempted to use her claws to get a footing on the ice. _She’s got the speed, but clearly there’s not much ice in the rainforest,_ Nick thought. The jungle predator began to slide backwards and flail to stay attached. What was worse was that the jaguar’s fur was sticking to the wall and ripping out in clumps as she tried to find footing. Other cadets were having similar issue – a lion’s mane stuck to an ice wall was not a pretty sight. Well, it was pretty funny actually. Muja had managed to dig his hooves into the ice and was slowly making progress. Nick watched it all and shook his head 

“So, what’s the secret to this one, Nick,” came a soft voice to Nick’s left. Still larger than Nick, the ocelot was the only other smallish mammal in their class. Jasper was quiet and seemed to blend into the crowd of cadets, but his eyes were always attentive. Nick noted that the small cat was the only cadet not covered in mud from earlier.

“What makes you think there is a secret, or that I would tell you? Figured you’d follow the jaguar, jump, claw, climb,” Nick said. Most of the recruits were on their second or third attempt by now. Sutaro had fallen twice and several clumps of fur stayed behind on the wall, painfully marking her progress. The moose was the only one to have reached the halfway point.

“Oh, us spotted ones have to stick together?” He gave a small chuckle. “I’ve known Sutaro for years. She’ll get over that wall even if it takes her the next three hours. Me? I’d rather be having seconds on dessert by then.” He turned to face Nick. “You standing back and watching them fall makes me think you already know the way over.”

“And if I do?”

“Divide and conquer.” Gesturing down to his clean uniform, Jasper continued, “I don’t care about the shower, but I am starving. You get the shower and I’ll grab you an extra bug burger or cicada wrap before this horde gets to it.”

The academy food was terrible, but a day being covered in mud and yelled at by a polar bear would make anyone hungry, as the growl in Nick’s stomach reminded him. Muja really looked like he might make it to the top if he waited much longer.

“Fine, and see if you can grab me seconds on dessert.” He pointed to the wall. “Move quick and at an angle, zig zag, not straight up. Don’t stop moving, your paw and fur will stick if you pause a second. Paw and claw only, any other part of you will slip or stick.”

Without waiting for Jasper’s reply, Nick took off for the wall. Breaking into a sprint he waited until the last second before jumping. Landing at an angle, he arched his back to keep his stomach or chest from the ice. Using his claws to keep his momentum going to launched forward and up. Zig zagging, he soon passed most of the struggling recruits. Moving at an angle to take him to the top he found himself even with Muja. The surprise and anger in his face was almost reward enough for Nick. Reaching the top, he gave a quick flick of his tail sending a coating of snow and ice falling onto the moose’s face. _Now that’s the icing on the cake,_ Nick thought as he hopped down the sloped other side. Walking towards the dorms and the promise of a hot shower, Nick looked back towards the wall and frowned as a wide pair of antlers came into view, followed by two hooves. Muja tried to pull himself over the top.

Just at that moment a gold and black spotted streak appeared over the edge. Tumbling past Muja and down the far embankment Jasper stood and brushed himself off before waving at Nick and breaking into a jog towards the dining hall. _Not exactly graceful but he got the job done_ . Satisfied that he would soon be fed. Nick headed for the warmth of the shower. Judy had talked of these physical tests as a grueling ordeal, but so far, some sore arms and muddy fur were the worst of it. _Well, one of us has spent years working Tundra Town and having to deal with species ten times our size, and the other grew carrots_. Some nice fresh air, light calisthenics, getting to meet and irritate new friends and enemies, all in a day’s work.

* * *

“Let’s see, Mr. Wilde. How about you tell us how you would begin processing this Class B Incident?” Instructor Loganbull, an older bison, peered out over the classroom at Nick sitting in the back. As if on cue most of the other recruits turned to look at him. Standing and scanning the prompt projected on the board, Nick tried to take in all the information. _You’ve been called to the scene of a reported break in at a medium-trafficked store in Sahara Square serving gazelle and smaller clients. Using S.I.A.E.N._ _explain the steps of preparing the scene for processing, including forwarding to auxiliary units information relevant to responding officer selection….. Crap_

“Ah, well what store is it, what does its sell?” Nick asked, both to buy time and get any shred of information

“Does that matter, Mr. Wilde?”

“I’d want that information before I arrived on the scene.”

“Fine let’s say they sell…coats and sweaters, it doesn’t matter,” Loganbull said with exasperation.

“A store selling coats and sweaters, in Sahara Square! Well, first off, I’m investigating the owner. Must be a front for something, my first guess would be diamond smuggling.” _Stop talking, you stupid fox, you’re digging yourself deeper._

“Home goods! The items don’t matter, Mr. Wilde. Can you answer the question or not?” Every eye was on him now.

“Yes! See, well medium-sized home goods in Sahara Square would be the Whiskers family. The Meerkats clans have cornered the home good for the last few years. So if someone is hitting one of Ms. Flower’s places, I would look to one of the rival clans, ahh, maybe the Zappas? Frank’s been trying to grow their territory.”

“Please go on, Mr. Wilde. I want to see where this ends,” the old bison said. “And don’t leave out the responding officers.”

“Responding officers, yes, well, the Zappas ‘allegedly’ do some smuggling across districts and are trying to grow ties with Mr. Big’s network. So I would ask Officer Snarlov or any of the Tundra patrol to keep an eye out on the warehouses behind the chiller complex for suspicious shipments coming in from Sahara Square.” _That should cover my bases,_ Nick thought.

The entire room was silent as the cadets shifted focus between Nick and Mr. Loganbull and back again. The bison remained quiet and regarded Nick for a several long seconds.

“Mr. Wilde, in all my years of teaching that was perhaps the most insanely idiotic thing I have ever heard. At no point in your ramblings did you come even close to answering the question. Your classmates and I are now dumber for having listened to it. Please sit down and may god have mercy on your soul.”

Snickers were soon replaced by bawls of laughter as the fox sank as low into his seat as he could. _I miss the rope bridge._

* * *

“I was embarrassed for you! That’s not going to be forgotten by anyone anytime soon.” Sutaro sat her tray down across from Nick. “Pretty sure I heard some of the faculty laughing about it when I went past the lounge.” She put on her best bad impression of Nick. “Everyone knows that meerkats have been hiding diamonds in sweater vests, just ask the polar bears.”

“Tactful as always, Sutaro,” Jasper remarked joining them at the table. “I seem to recall you answering that the first step at the mock crime scene was to go interview the victim.”

“Seemed like a logical first step,” the Jaguar said, poking at the oddly colored mush that the academy insisted was food.

“It was a murder! There was a zebra chalk outline!” Jasper said. His normally quiet voice rising for once.

“Oh, you never know, they might get better.” A grin broke across her face as she began to shovel the slop into her mouth.

Much like with the ice wall, Sutaro leapt first, thought second, and tried to figure out the rest once she landed. Despite her tactless quips, Nick liked the jaguar. In the first few weeks of the Academy she and Jasper had been the only ones that made any attempt at friendship with the outcast fox. Few of the others outside of Muja were outright hostile, but most of the others kept a less than polite distance. _Probably not that different for Fluffs. She was the joke and I’m the shifty no good fox._ While not a pleasant thought, it did make him feel less alone in the situation.

“You know I still think we could play connect the dots with that missing fur, Inkblot,” Nick responded back. “I know a skunk that could donate some hair to fill the bald spots.”

“And lose my battle scars, no thank you,” she said, regarding the patches of fur unevenly re-growing on her arms. She actually appeared to be pleased with herself. “This one was black but looks to be coming in more gold.”

“Loganbull’s a jerk to just about everyone, he’ll have a new target by next week and you’ll be forgotten,” Jasper said in a not-so-convincing tone. “But you do need to work on those answers, Nick. Guessing that first test was not too favorable?”

The ocelot may have been more tactful, but “not too favorable” was still an overstatement. He had catastrophically, undeniably, and categorically flunked their first written class exam. Around midway down the exam sheet the sea of red X marks had stopped and a single big red NO written instead. 

“Might be an area or two I need to review,” Nick replied, suddenly interested in the contents of his plate. _Is this supposed to be broccoli? It’s so mushy._ Jasper and Sutaro looked at Nick and then at each other. 

“I’ve got a few supplement books I can lend you. Might help fill in what you’re missing,” Jasper offered.

“We’re trying to get some of the others together in few days for a good old study session. Nothing like a study session to build the ghost made from corpses or what not,” Sutaro offered.

Now it was Nick and Jasper who stared at the grinning Jaguar and pondered the confusing and macabre imagery. Finally, it was Jasper who slowly started smacking his shaking head. “God, why did I think I could teach you French.” 

Having agreed to take the study material and meet for a study session, Nick wandered back towards the kitchen. He had seen strawberry pie listed on the menu board and hoped that just maybe they wouldn’t be able to mess pie up as much as… _well whatever the heck I just ate_.

The serving area and the kitchen were mostly empty when Nick come in. A single sheep was cleaning dishes in the back corner and not noticing Nick. Studying the enclosed dessert shelf Nick was disappointed to see that there was in fact no strawberry pies remaining and just a smattering of sad looking blueberry pies under the heat lamp. Nick had recently discovered just how good blueberries could be and somehow these seemed like a poor substitute. _I should make her a decent pie next time I get ahold of those Hopps family berries,_ Nick idly thought to himself turning away, resolving to skip dessert.

“Oh! Sorry, can I get you anything?” A nervous sounding voice echoed from behind him in the kitchen. Nick looked over his shoulder to find the sheep hesitantly walking towards the counter, drying her hands on her apron. Her eyes seemed to be looking everywhere other than directly at him. _You would think I would be used to that by now_. Still made his stomach sink just a tad to see the prey mammal shy away. 

“Not unless you have any more strawberry pie, thanks, though.” Nick started towards the door. No need to give the poor sheep a heart attack from having to face the conniving mean fox.

“Wait!” she called out. “If you wait here a minute I’ve got one more in the oven.” She stepped from behind the counter but kept her distance. 

“I can come back in a few minutes and see if it’s done.” Nick was a bit surprised by the offer.

“It will be just a minute, hon, and nice and hot if you just wait a few.” She was still regarding him, nervously toying with her apron ends.

“Umm, ok, sure, can’t beat hot pie,” Nick said trying to judge the situation. They both stood in an awkward silence before the sheep blurted out

“You’re the fox right?”

“Yes, I suppose I am a fox,” he paused for a brief moment, “at least the last time I checked.”

“No, I mean the one from the news, the one that caught Bellwether.”

_And I thought this was awkward before_. His name hadn’t appeared in most of the press coverage but photos of Judy announcing the arrest and taking questions often had him in the background. “Bunny Z.P.D Officer Assisted by Fox Civilian in Uncovering Conspiracy.” But his name was out there for the curious and indeed was the reason he had been accepted into the academy in the first place.

So here was a sheep asking if he was the fox that had brought down the corrupt vice mayor that was attempting to stir up interspecies violence to secure prey supremacy, and yes that vice mayor was a sheep.

“Yeah, I guess I am the fox from the news.” His desire for a slice of pie was suddenly outweighed by a desire to be anywhere else. The small sheep finally met Nick’s eyes and seemed to be trembling even more. A surge of energy seemed to be brimming up inside of her. _Am I about to be attacked by an irate kitchen sheep? Of all the ways to be murdered this hadn’t even made my top ten._

With a sudden explosion of energy she took a leap forward, coming right up to Nick who had raised his arms and taken a step back. “Can I get a picture? Sorry but no one is going to believe that I know you without a picture, well not that you know me, I mean that I’ve seen you or… Hi I’m Bitsy Butterhorn.”

Nick stood frozen, his jaw slowly working its way open and down into a look of confusion and shock. Being asked for a selfie was not how he expected this day to go.

“Oh sorry, came on too strong there, didn’t I,” she said, taking a step back and resuming fidgeting with her apron. “My sisters always said ‘Bitsy you shoot out the gate so fast the wool don’t know which way to go.’ It’s a sheep thing, we’ve got some saying about foxes too you know, but I don’t think you would like them too much, my uncle…”

“Whoa, hold up, fluff cloud,” Nick interrupted the rambling ewe and regained some of his own composure. “You want a photo with me? Can’t imagine I’ve got much fan mail coming in from the sheep clubs.”

“Oh you would be surprised, but yes, a lot do want to see you sheared and the Bellwether apologists are, well troubling to say the least. Still you’ve made me kind of well...” and here she lowered her voice, “Kind of a badass.” 

“Can’t say I’m following you there.”

“I mean a sheep supervillain!! Who would have thought it? She made that lion look like a kitten. Oh, I mean it’s terrible, and I hope she rots in prison, but now everyone here looks at me a bit differently. ‘Maybe Bitsy has a secret,’ maybe old Ms ButterHorn not such a flock follower. The girls in my book club let me choose the book for this month!” she actually let out a small squeak of excitement. “Do you know the last time that happened?”

“Can’t say I do.” Nick couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurdity of the conversation he found himself in.

“Never!! And now we’re going to be discussing ‘Sheep Thrills, My Life Behind Baahs’ next week. I figured a criminal justice theme would work well since most of us work here. Julia wanted to do…”

“Yes, let’s take that picture! Hell, I declare you president of the Nick Wilde fan club,” Nick said, interrupting the excitable sheep.

Still shaking with excitement Bitsy pulled her cellphone out of her apron and handed it to Nick before pressing herself into his side. _It really is so fluffy, like a cloud attempting to smother me,_ Nick marveled as he leaned down and held up the phone to get them both into frame. He started to put on his well-practiced, harmless friendly fox smile but instead got a quick elbow in his rib.

“No, look fierce! Like we’re up to something. Taking down evil doers, or maybe _we_ are the evil doers!” Bitsy did her best to bare her teeth in a menacing fashion, which to Nick didn’t really have the intended effect, unless the idea was to make her look even more silly. While not baring his fangs _must try to keep some dignity at least_ he did put on a frown and squinty eyes that was at least somewhat shady looking. The resulting photo looked less intimidating and more like Nick had smelled something unpleasant while Bitsy had just bitten a sour lemon. Still it was a photo of a fox and a sheep squished together in friendship. 

“Perfect, maybe I’ll just casually leave it out at book club,” she pondered. “Heck, I think this whole thing is the reason I got the promotion.”

“Promotion?” Nick asked, wondering what she must have done before if dish washing was the promotion.

“Oh, I’m in charge of the entire kitchen! Ten years as a secretary and now I’m in charge of everything from ordering supplies to cooking.” She leaned in towards Nick as if to reveal a secret. “And I don’t know how to cook! I’ve been scrambling all month following this old recipe book with half the pages missing, not that I think anyone can tell.”

As if on cue Nick started to smell a faintly unpleasant burning smell.

“Perfect! I think your pie is ready!” 


	5. Lunch and History

Judy looked out the window as Russano pulled out of the mid afternoon traffic of Tsavo Boulevard and down a winding warren of side streets. They had left behind Savannah Central main square with its plaza fountain and trendy shops nearly an hour ago. Shining office buildings and apartment complexes gave way to shorter old drab gray buildings. Boarded up shop windows and faded masonry pointed to an area that much of Zootopia had forgotten. The winding narrow streets and quick sudden corners quickly had Judy lost in the unfamiliar neighborhood.

“Looks like some old buildings in this neighborhood,” Judy said, trying to spur at least some conversation. The badger had been mostly silent on the ride out and had given no hint of their assignment or destination.

“This is what the whole district was once,” Russano replied, taking another quick turn down a side street, or was it an alley? “At least the nicer parts.” 

“So are you going to tell me what we’re assigned to or am I just going to have to figure it out once we get there?” Judy asked, a small bit of exasperation creeping into her voice.

“Assigned? I’ve not been assigned to anything for a decade or more.” He let out a small grunt at the look of confusion on his partner’s face. “Bogo stays out of my way and I stay out of his, perfect relationship.”

With that he pulled into a back alley and parked the car in front of a squat two-story building. Looking around, Judy saw that most of the surrounding shop windows were dark. A single rusty sign hung above the door, ‘Ackson’s’ it read.

“What we do here will be the most important thing you do all day,” Russano stated, his low voice echoing slightly in the alleyway. He stared at the door. “Watch yourself, and don’t make any sudden movements and you should… probably be alright.” He glanced to either side of the alleyway before walking towards the door.

“Wait, what are we facing!” Judy said, unslinging an expandable baton from her holster and regretting not having checked out an electrified version. Russano paused for a moment with his hand on the door before pushing it open and disappearing inside. As the door swung shut Judy heard an angry shout from inside. Cursing to herself Judy ran towards the door, extending the baton. With a swift running kick she burst through the door, her eyes struggling to adjust to the dimmer light. “Z.P.D.!” she shouted with all the authority she could muster.

The small bell attached to the door was still dinging as her eyes adjusted. The wildebeest standing behind the diner counter looked at her with amused interest but continued wiping the counter. A weasel and fox in the far corner paused their card game and stared at the intrusion, while a startled doe gripped her fawn to her and inched towards the exit. The entire place was silent and all eyes were on the bunny. 

“Well, the food might not be perfect, but I would hardly consider it an arrestable offence, Hopps,” Russano said, letting out his first genuine chuckle. Judy felt the tips of her ears turning red with embarrassment and heard a smattering of snickers as the surprised patrons settled back down.

“Sorry, my mistake,” she meekly called out towards the deer, who now shot her an angry look as she headed out the door. “You did that on purpose!” Rounding on Russano, her embarrassment turning to anger. “Most important part of the day!?” 

“Lunch is very important, get the apple salad, and unless you’re planning on smashing the lettuce how about you put the stick away.” He gestured towards the baton still gripped in her paws.

“Great! Now you’ve gone and scared Mrs. Walters. First you arrest my best customer and now you’re scaring away the few respectable ones left.” The angry voice came from out of the back kitchen. Judy watched as an older beaver slowly came out from the back and made her way up a stepstool to the counter. Silver whiskers blended with gray fur covered most of her face. A pair of thick gold-rimmed glasses framed her eyes and made them appear twice as large.

“You’ve got a bunny following you,” she observed, peering at Judy.

“Even after all these years, Martha, your powers of observation never cease to amaze.” Russano found a bar stool at the counter as the beaver produced and poured a large mug of coffee, then used a small pair of tongs and dropped two sugar cubes into it before pushing it towards the badger.

“Besides, Mrs. Walters comes here for a sense of danger, certainly not the food. It’s the closest her lot will come to the haunch. She’ll tell all her friends at tea how she witnessed a big police raid,” Russano said, taking a gulp of the coffee. “And the bunny here is Officer Hopps, trying not to get her killed.”

Martha snorted and turned her attention on Judy. “Afraid you got the short straw with this one,” she said, gesturing towards Russano. Looking more closely at Judy, she added, “You’re the one from the news, the savage predators and all that.”

“Yes, ma’am and sorry about earlier, my ‘partner’ here didn’t exactly give me good information,” Judy said as she sprang up into the seat next to Russano. She reached down and found the adjustment bar to raise her stool up to more even with her larger partner, it was one of the old style stools and required her to pump the handle a good half dozen times, Still it was better than having to request a booster seat.

“Oh, don’t worry, you’re not the first to fall for one of his so-called jokes. Well, good job, with Bellwether, I suppose, though you’ve certainly kicked a bit of a hornet nest round here.”

“But why? I figured that once mammals knew that it had nothing to do with predator biology, there wouldn’t be anything to be afraid of. I mean it was a sheep behind it all, not a predator.”

“Dear, nothing works that simply around this city. Too much history. Some prey view that sheep as a hero. Now what can I get you?”

After a quick review of the menu she decided that Russano’s suggested apple and walnut salad did look appetizing. While Martha returned to the kitchen, Judy looked around the small diner. The place was clean but was clearly old. The counter was polished wood as were most of the tables and chairs. Even the cash register looked to be from half a century ago, with manual levers and buttons. Narrow, dusty windows let in limited light, and a few hanging bulbs explained the diners overall dim lighting. Framed photos lined the wall behind the bar. Most looked to be photos from inside the diner, but family photos and other old and yellowing photos were scattered around. Judy recognized a younger Martha standing in front of the restaurant “ackson’s” sign looking polished. 

A few minutes later Martha came back with two plates of food, the salad for Judy and a thick crusted meat pie that she placed in front of Russano. “Eat up, I think your friend will be here soon enough.” She headed over and shooed away the wildebeest working the counter.

“So other than the lunch, there is a reason we’re here,” she asked the hulking badger beside her. “Also... where exactly is here, anyways?” She gestured around the old diner. She thought that her months in the city had given her a decent if brief overview of the districts, Yet this old neighborhood with its twisting streets and dilapidated old buildings hadn’t been on any of her regular patrol routes.

“This diner’s been here since I was a cub. Her father built it.” He tapped the wood counter. “Literally with his own two paws and teeth. Sure, it looked a bit newer back then,” he shrugged as he looked around. “But I suppose we all did. Food’s still pretty damn good. Don’t tell her I said that.”

On that point, Judy did have to agree. The green lettuce was mixed with spinach and topped with thick sliced red and green apples and toasted walnuts. A swirl of what she guessed was pomegranate dressing added an additional bite of flavor to the balance of tart and sweet. Compared to her normal microwave dinners and the quick in and out places near the station this almost tasted like home. 

“As for the rest of your question, we’re in the far north west of Savanah Central. The oldest and maybe last unpolished part of the city, or as people oh so affectionately call it, the Haunch.”

The Haunch. Yes, that was a name that Judy had heard around the station. ‘Shape up, Snorlov, or else you’ll be patrolling the Haunch. ‘Better fill that quota, Meercatsky, or you’ll be filling it in the Haunch.’

It had always seemed like a bit of a police station joke. She had never really stopped to consider that it might be an actual place. “You mean to say that the Haunch is a real place,” she said with a growing feeling of worry.

“Unless you mean to tell me I grew up in some sort of made up fantasy land.” He let out something between a grunt and laugh.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean...” but he waved his arms.

“It wasn’t the Haunch back then, or at least no one called it that, most of the city looked about like this. Some of the other districts weren’t even built yet when I was young.”

_How old is this guy?_ Judy wondered to herself. “So why do they call it the Haunch?”

“Because it’s the ass end of Zootopia, it smells funny and if you spend enough time here you will too,” he replied with the pattern of someone that had used that line enough that it had lost most of its humor. “The bright shiny metropolis that they love to put on postcards for little farm bunnies like you to wonder at doesn’t have room for the folks that don’t shine. They put up the towers and the malls and those that don’t fit that shining city on the hill roll down here. Bogo won’t even send most of his precious officers into the neighborhood without a response team on standby.”

“So why are we here if Bogo won’t send officers?”

“I said, he won’t send his ‘precious officers,’ that title doesn’t apply to me,” he said. “Or you, as long as you’re partnered with me.”

The bell over the back door rang and a nervous-looking gray wolf stuck his head through the door and looked around till he saw Russano. Russano nodded towards the wolf, whose head vanished back out the door.

“Time to meet a friend,” he said, as Judy started to get down from her seat. “Wait here, Hopps, this friend is not too fond of talking to cops.” He paused at this, and at the look on Judy’s face, “Well, most cops. Just wait here.” With that he headed out the back door into the alleyway.

_Well this is starting to piss me off,_ she thought to herself. Being dragged halfway across the district and not being told what the hell was going on was bad enough. Now her standoffish partner had left her behind to meet with a shifty mammal in an alley. _At least Nick makes me laugh even when I want to kill him_. She smiled at the thought of the fox beside her in the diner.

“Don’t let him get you down, sure he can be a grump but he means well enough,”

Martha said as she came back over and up the step stool behind the counter. She started to box up Russano’s half-eaten bug pie, and Judy now noted that the beaver walked with a slight limp in her right leg.

“Just trying to get a read on my latest and greatest partner,” she said as she toyed with the last bits of salad on her plate. “So you’ve known him how long, Ms… Jackson?” Judy asked. This was going to be a long couple of weeks, or months if she was going to have to drag every bit of information out and it was only lunch!

“Oh, you could say that. Bogo and he used to sit over in that booth there when he was being trained.” She waved a paw towards an empty booth by the front window. Its wooden frame was still strong but the upholstery was faded and worn from decades of use. “Dad would even play cards with them sometimes. Gave him a bit of a thrill to clean out the cops.”

“Huh, so Bogo trained Russano.” Judy pondered this. Even from the brief encounter back at the station it seemed clear that Russano and Bogo had something of a history. Was Bogo upset by his student, or Russano resentful of his teacher? It was something Judy would have to ask Clawhauser later.

Martha let out a snorting laugh. “The opposite. Russano had to practically drill through those horns to get any sense into that buffalo. Sweet enough calf but stubborn as an otter!”

Judy’s eyes widened and her ears pointed towards the ceiling as she tried not to choke on a walnut. Finally, she succumbed to a combination of coughing and laughing and covering her mouth as she spit out said walnut. It was hard to decide which part was funnier or more surprising. _Chief Bogo a sweet calf!_ Yep, that image won out and would be the first thing she thought of come next briefing. “Wait, Russano trained Chief Bogo?” she finally asked when she could speak.

“Oh, they were partners for years back then, saw them in here a couple times a week at least.” She looked around her restaurant as if she could still see the patrons of decades’ past. “Oh, I know it’s not much to look at now, but this was once the best spot in the whole neighborhood. Heck, I’m not just bragging to say folks from all over the city used to come by.”

“So what happened, can’t say I sensed much love lost between them earlier,” Judy said, recalling the stare down between the two of them hours before.

“Same thing that happened to this diner and the neighborhood, time and history.” She paused for a moment before her face lit up and suddenly vanished as she hopped off the step stool. “Want to see them?” Judy heard her voice and had to peer over the counter as the beaver limped with surprising spryness towards the back hall of the diner. Judy followed until they stood in front of a wall of photographs. The photos stretched down the hall from floor to ceiling.

Most were framed but some appeared to simply be glued or taped to the wall. Martha scanned the photos and muttered to herself as if she was a geologist dating the sediment. “Poor Ms. Mazel here been dead ten years, Baby Jason there has kids of his own, oh there’s Penelope’s hat, we must be close,” she said, moving further down the hall.

“Ahh, there we all are!” she exclaimed. Pointing up the wall, she said “Grab that if you can, this leg’s not much for jumping.” 

With a quick spring, Judy came down with the framed photo, still covered with a thin layer of dust that Martha gingerly rubbed aside. “Proof that we were all younger once.” 

And it was exactly that. The color was fading and it had an orange reddish tint, but there was Chief ( _well, future Chief)_ Bogo sitting in the diner booth next to a younger badger, both in crisp and pressed ZPD uniforms. They both smiled up towards the unseen photographer, cards in hand and chips down on the table. Across the table from the officers were two beavers, one intensely focused on his cards while the other was half turned looking back over her shoulder grinning, thick-brimmed silver glasses framing her slender face. 

“Like I said, Dad liked to try and clean them out of whatever he could. Free coffee but the poker will cost them.” She smiled remembering them all around the table. “Kept them informed of local affairs and the news that didn’t make the news, if you catch my drift. So, they all benefited I guess”

While she understood the concept of a young Bogo and a younger Russano it was still a bit jarring for Judy to stare down at the photo and their smiling happy faces. “Well you look as lovely today as back then but Russano looks, well… cheerful,” Judy observed. Trying to square the image of the grinning badger with her new, grim partner. 

“If he seems to be the bitter old mammal, he at least comes by it honestly.” She sighed and looked around at the photos, many featuring the restaurant or herself over the years “Hard to grow up in these parts and not get the occasional dose of kicks to the teeth. ‘Sometimes you’re the tree and just have to dam it all’ as my father used to say”

Judy took one last look at the photo before returning it back to the wall. She spent a moment looking at the other photos, patrons in booths, a young Martha holding a mop and scowling towards the camera. A group standing in front of the restaurant holding a banner “SPIKE’ hand painted in big blue block letters. It took Judy a moment to pick out Martha standing in the front row wearing a blue jacket. It was an odd assortment of mammals: a lion in an overcoat stood on Martha’s right and a young deer with a red old fashioned flat cap stood in the center, zebras, tigers, a gazelle, jackals and even a polar bear rounded out the group. As opposed to most of the dusty framed photos, this one seemed to have recently been cleaned.

“Yeah, I was one of those troublemakers back then, even held some meetings upstairs. Penelope suggested the whole tree thing right here, if you can believe it,” She said with a hint of pride in her voice.

“Spike?” Judy asked. She had heard of the Moose Lodge and had driven by the Shrewners hospital, but Spike didn’t ring a bell. 

Martha looked up at her in puzzlement before frowning “They don’t teach kids anything important in school now do they. Well, you’re not from the city so I guess you’ve got some excuse, can’t say I know much about Bunnyburg carrots or history”

Judy was opening her mouth and was about to correct the beaver; Bunnyburg was twenty miles further east of Bunnyburrow and known more for their radishes and turnips. Also, they couldn’t grow a carrot that compared to Hopps Farm’s to save their lives…. But she thought better of it.

“If you think tension between predators and prey are bad now… we’re living in a golden age compared to when I was younger. Hell, you see interspecies couples living in the open, some got killed for that you know.”

They had studied some history of species’ rights’ struggle and conflict, but in a small town made up primarily of, bunnies, sheep, and pigs, those sorts of things weren’t talked about much. She still was ashamed to admit that prior to Nick the only other fox she had much interaction with was her childhood bully, Gideon.

“I guess I didn’t realize it was ever that bad. Zootopia’s supposed to be a place apart from all that, where anyone can be anything no matter what species, or that’s what we’re all trying to do here.” _I sound like an afterschool special._

Martha pulled the old photo off the wall, held it in her paws and sighed “Well if any of that is even half true you can thank Penelope for fighting for it.” She taped a claw on the doe wearing a crooked red flat top knit cap. “Brought a bunch of predator and prey mammals together to fight for understanding and better cross-district relationships. Dark days those were.”

The back door opened and Russano walked in and searched for a moment before spotting the two of them in the narrow hall. “Hopps, time to go, looks like we’ve got some actual work to do today.”

He scowled when he spotted the photo in her paw. “You teaching old history lessons now? Don’t you have enough trying not to burn another bug burger?” 

“Someone’s got to teach the history, damn it; we _lived_ it,” Martha said, brushing off a smudge of dust and placing the photo back on the wall.

Russano looked up at the photo for a few long moment, seemingly lost in thought before he shook his head and turned his eyes back to Judy. “Got a tip for us to follow up, so if you’re done hopping down memory lane…” he said walking out the back without finishing.

“This ‘drag me around without telling me anything’ bit is getting old,” Judy muttered toward the closing door.

“He’s worked alone most of time – have to remind him what it means to have a partner again,” Martha said, shrugging and slowly waddling back towards the counter. “But it doesn't seem like you’ll have much problem with that... Oh take this bag out, will you? I threw in some extra apples for you.” She held up the plastic bag containing the leftover beetle pie and a container of sliced apples.

As Judy walked back to the counter and grabbed the bag, movement from the front window caught her eyes. Walking to the front and peering out between the blinds she watched as the nervous young wolf climbed into the back of a large black sedan. Tinted windows made it impossible to make out the occupants, but as it drove away Judy saw a flash of white fur in the front seat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you've been enjoying the story so far. Please let me know what you think.  
> I will continue to aim to publish new chapters weekly but can sometimes be an unfortunately  
> slow writer. Thankfully I have a few more chapters already written so hopefully I can keep ahead for a few weeks more


	6. Stakeout

“So how about you start by telling me what we’re doing and why I’m staring at this door.” They had driven fifteen minutes since leaving the diner, Judy looking out the window as Russano took seemingly random turns down side streets and alleyways until squat buildings had given way to an aging industrial area. Russano had pulled the car into an alleyway up the block from a boarded-up warehouse and cut the engine. “Watch that red door, Hopps,” was all he had said. A small red door on the side of the warehouse was visible through her side mirror.

“You’re staring at that door, rabbit, because I’ve been tracking this gang for weeks.” He reached into the back seat and pulled out a wrinkled file folder and tossed it onto Judy’s lap. “Stolen cars, fenced goods, some claw for hire. They showed up in the haunch a few months ago.” Judy opened the folder and found a short stack of mugshots and rap sheets. Four faces stared back at her, a kudu, a boar, a ferret, and finally a jackal. “And your ‘friend’ says they’re based in there?” 

“Stolen cars go in and parts come out,” Russano said while adjusting his rearview mirror. “Tracked tires to Tundra Town and electronics in Rainforest district. Truck from a construction site went missing this morning.”

“So let’s roll them up. Call in backup and make the arrests,” Judy said, looking over her shoulder towards the building. Two rusty bay doors faced the street while the red door faced a side alleyway. There wasn’t much foot traffic and only the occasional loading truck or van passed behind their observation post. 

“Thank you for that insight, Officer Hopps,” Russano said, in what Judy was coming to recognize as his characteristic grunt. “Need to catch them with the vehicle in paw to tie all the crimes and the gang together, otherwise they maybe plea to possession of illicit goods, pay a fine and are back on the street by tomorrow.”

Even in her short time on the force Judy had seen it too many times already. Charges dropped or dismissed, mammals with good lawyers managing to plea out to lesser charges on everything from drug dealing to weapon smuggling. Judy remembered one particularly bad domestic violence call… she shuddered to know that the goat was back home with just a disorderly conduct misdemeanor. “So, you just need proof of the stolen car and the gang all together?” Judy said already eyeing a narrow set of windows set midway up the building.

“That’s the idea, Hopps… and speak of the devils themselves.” Russano reached over and pulled a large set of binoculars out of the glove compartment before twisting around to look out the back window. The badger’s large frame blocking her view, Judy turned to the side mirror and could just make out the distant shapes of a muscular boar and a slim jackal approaching the door.

“Meet Clyde Tusker and Julius Tugs. Tusker provides the brawn and Tugs scouts their targets,” Russano commented as the two mammals entered through the door, Julius taking a furtive glance around before going in. “Greso, the ferret, should already be inside, he does their mechanical work.” 

“So that leaves…” Judy paused looking down at the folder, “Calvin Hornspear, you don’t have much here on him. Attempted robbery?” The file contained a mugshot of a mean-looking kudu bull, a greying beard hanging down from his chin and two spiral horns pointing skyward.

“Not much to tell on him, An old assault and battery charge along with robbery but he’s mostly off the grid. Hard to say that any of these mammals are the brains of this thing but Calvin might fit the bill.”

“Not much of a criminal record for a wannabe mastermind,” Judy commented, looking over the assorted mammal photos, an idea forming in her mind.

“Sometimes the smarter the criminal the smaller the record, Hopps. Show me a band like this and it’s the one with the fewest priors that’s calling the tune.”

Judy wondered about Nick and how many times he had just managed to stay below the radar and off an arrest booking sheet. They had talked about it, sure, and Bogo had probably rightfully insisted on an extra deep dive in the background check, but Nick was not exactly the most forthcoming about his past and Judy hated to pry into the pains of the past. Still, Judy briefly wondered how Russano would react to her friendship with the former confox.

The thing about stakeouts that the academy and movies rarely covered is how dreadfully boring they could be. After another hour of little conversation and staring at the doorway Judy felt her eyes begin to twitch, her neck begin to kink, and her footpad absently taping at a steadily quickening pace. Judy might have many skills but patiently sitting still was not one of them.

Russano on the other hand pulled out the “Zootopia Gazette” and was working on the crossword puzzle, his eyes flicking between the page and his mirror. It was late afternoon and a large white delivery truck had pulled in and parked next to the warehouse and its zebra driver was unloading pallets of bottled water onto a handcart for a nearby convenience store when Russano finally put down the paper.

“Well, time to pack it up. We’ll try again tomorrow.”

“Wait, what? But they’re in there right now!” Judy said waving her arms towards the warehouse in exasperation. “We can get them now.” The prospect of spending another afternoon staring out the window suddenly seemed very unappealing. “You said you need evidence of the members in possession of the stolen vehicles. Would photos do?”

“Don’t think this lot will be much for selfie taking, Hopps but yeah, if we could get photos from inside of the gang with the missing construction truck we could make arrests and get them to roll over on Calvin and any others.”

Judy looked back towards the warehouse and saw the zebra walking up the street, his handcart empty after delivering the last load of water bottles. _Well no time like the present._ “Keep your phone on,” she said as she opened the door and hopped down into the alleyway, her legs giving a small protest after sitting for so long.

“Hopps?” his voice seemingly able to hold both a question and a warning in a single word.

“Just going to get that evidence and save my sanity,” she said over her shoulder as she headed toward the street.

Russano let out a low grunt and maybe called something out, but by that point the rabbit had already broken into a slow run across the street and towards the warehouse.

Breaking into a sprint Judy reached the back of the white delivery truck just as the zebra climbed into the driver’s seat. With a running jump, Judy launched herself up and grabbed onto a handle set high on the rolling doorframe. _Not exactly designed for bunnies._ Kicking her feet against the truck she managed to pull herself up to stand on the handle. At that moment, the truck rumbled to life and she almost lost her footing as it began to shake. Steadying herself she crouched and with another jump Judy made it onto the top of the truck just as it began to move. _I’ll only get one shot at this._ She looked up towards the row of windows that still seemed just out of reach. The truck was slowly inching out of the alleyway and towards the street. Running forward to give herself some room, Judy turned around and ran towards the back of the truck. At the last moment and with one final thrust of her powerful legs, Judy leapt upwards towards the warehouse window. With a thud that nearly knocked her breath away she hit the wall but managed to grab onto the windowsill and pull herself up and over and into the darkened warehouse.

Crouching in the brick window frame, Judy looked down at the imposing drop back to the street. Up the street she could just make out Russano’s car and the large badger standing beside it regarding her through his binoculars. Even at this distance Judy imagined she could still see his scowl. _Might have been a little hasty here Judy, but…. well no way but forward now._ Taking a moment to let her eyes adjust to the gloom, she hopped down onto a wide, elevated catwalk that ran along the walls of the warehouse about thirty feet above its floor. A staircase to her left wound down to the ground level and she could see a few ladders in the gloom. A few discarded boxes and crates provided cover as she crept up to the edge of the walkway and peered down.

The warehouse had stood abandoned for years, an odd assortment of rusty machinery and old crates and metal shelves. A wide area in the center had been cleared out and a half dozen small floodlights rigged up in a semi-circle. In the center of the circle of light sat the front loader construction truck its orange and blue side painted _Lionheart Construction_.

“Not like I can simply unscrew a few bolts and the engine comes out, bit more complex than a station wagon, Cal.” Judy spotted Greso, the ferret, step out from underneath the truck, his small lank body easily able to walk beneath the truck with a few inches of headroom to spare. Wearing grease caked overalls, he clutched a wrench in one paw and carried a large toolbox in the other. 

“How long? They were specific on the engine requirements,” a deep voice from just outside the ring of light spoke. Straining her eyes Judy made out a large shadowy figure walking towards the truck.

“Few hours if you let me get to work, could do a bit quicker if I had a proper tools for a rig this big.” The figure stepped into the light, his two antlers twisted into spirals above his graying head. The kudu wore an old leather jacket with white stripes up its side. “Few hours is all we’ve got. Julius says we’ve got heat on us. Get the engine out and we trash the truck and we’re gone by morning.”

_So the gang is all here_ Judy thought to herself as she pulled out her phone. If she could just get a couple of photos or some video of Calvin and his crew working on the stolen truck than they could call backup and make the arrest. Using her paw to shield the glow of her screen Judy began snapping photos of Cavin and Gresco as they continued to discuss the logistics of removing the construction loader truck engine. A few moments later the muscular boar, Clyde Tusker, joined the pair by the truck, two Bug Burga bags clutched in each hoof.

“That sneak better pay me back this time, otherwise I’m eating his cicada burrito,” he said while distributing the bags. The group turned to the task of eating, leaning against the truck and throwing dirty wrappers up into the truck’s front bin. 

Taking a few more photos of the assembled group, Judy quickly sent them off to Russano before dialing his number. “So does that count as evidence, I heard them say they’ll be gone by morning,” she whispered into the phone, keeping her eyes on the group below.

“You’re a dumb, idiotic, foolhardy bunny, also you need to work on your counting, Hopps, you’re still missing Tugs,” Russano’s gruff voice replied. In her excitement to get the photos and make the arrests, Judy had to admit that she had nearly forgotten about the ferret scout. She looked down at the group around the truck and all around the dark warehouse but there was no sign of him.

“I can’t find him, He must have slipped out the back.” She froze as she felt cold sharp steel pressed into the side of her neck. 

“You’ve found me, now hang up bunny or I send you home as turnip fertilizer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So who knew that a global pandemic would turn out to be terrible for creative productivity.   
> My writing may have slowed to the pace of molasses but hopefully that just means that the end result will be all the sweeter.


	7. Out of the Ring and into the Frying Pan

Nick grunted as his back hit the mat for what must have been the hundredth time that afternoon. Each one another reminder of why he had spent so much time and energy trying to avoid actual fights most of his life.

“Spread your shoulders flat when you fall, disperses the energy more,” Jasper said, offering his paw to help pull Nick up. The class had been at sparring practice for most of the afternoon and Nick could already tell that at least his sore body would remember this lesson tomorrow. Being around the same size, Nick and Jasper had spent the last hour taking turns tossing the other onto the academy padded mat. _Not padded enough,_ Nick thought as he rubbed at a bruise forming at the base of his tail _._ Nick looked around at the large gymnasium where the rest of the training class was throwing each other about. He spotted Sutaro in the far corner being slammed to the mat by a zebra cadet, Somehow. She sprang up laughing each time and motioned for her partner to get ready for another attack. Nick just shook his head. 

“Ok one more, I think I’ve just about got the throw down,” Jasper said, walking a few steps further onto the mat before turning and assuming a fighting stance.

“You know the throw just fine, you just enjoy the chance to beat me up before it’s my turn,” Nick replied while stretching out his back. Still he dutifully took a few paces back and prepared to charge at the ocelot.

Jasper just shrugged and crouched slightly as Nick half-heartedly ran towards him, his arms outstretched as if holding a knife. Just as the attacking fox reached the ocelot, Jasper moved forward into the attack. While falling to one knee his arms shot up and grabbed Nick’s wrist and forearm just as they swung into the empty space he had just occupied. In one fluid motion Jasper pivoted his body into the fox while tugging on the fox’s arm up and over. His momentum carrying him forward, Nick soon found himself once again admiring the academy celling. Spreading his shoulders had helped lessen the impact slightly but he still gave a small groan.

“I’ll admit that may play some small part,” Jasper said, once again offering his paw to help Nick up. Finally, it would be Nick’s chance to learn and practice how to defend against a charging knife attack, but Sargent Friedkin chose that moment to blow the whistle and end the exercise.

“Hope you’re good and warmed up, boxing ring in five minutes, ladies,” she bellowed to her trainees. Mammals both big and smaller rushed to the water coolers to rehydrate and groan at the prospect of further beatings. Nick had to jump to one side to avoid being crushed by an elephant and black bear, both noticeably seemed to pay no attention to their smaller teammate. 

“Sparring then boxing. Are they trying to kill half of us in one day?” Jasper asked, looking around at the other cadets, most of them already sporting a bruise or two.

“Let them try!” Sutaro exclaimed, jogging up to join them. “This is almost as fun as the ice wall.”

“You’d enjoy being thrown off a cliff,” Jasper observed, looking up at the grinning jaguar looming over them. 

“Better that than another day of filling out mock booking paperwork,” Sutaro said with a shrug. They had spent most of the previous day practicing booking procedure and filling out form after form with the proper police code and procedure. Nick had prided himself on knowing more than a few police codes before he even joined but the ocean of paperwork and specialty codes was enough to make any mammal’s eyes cross. Codes for species, codes for location, codes for time of day, codes for species of responding officers. The codes for a drunken squirrel arrested at noon in city central bore little resemblance to the booking sheet of an intoxicated lion over-enjoying a Tundra Town night _and gods help me if any of them are left-pawed_. Did that matter? Who knows, but it was still on the blasted forms. 

It had taken Nick a few days to learn more about his two new, odd, friends. Jasper and Sutaro had both grown up in the cloud alley neighborhood of the Rainforest District and friends since early schooling. Both apparent outliers within their families, their personalities complimented each other, with Jasper the quiet studious type that rarely spoke without something to say while the large Sutaro rarely stopped to think or apparently care about self-preservation. Hearing Jasper tell the story, he had spent years intending to apply for the ZPD and studying for life as a police officer and had been shocked to discover Sutaro already on the bus to the academy. “I flipped a coin and it was this or join the circus, sad to say the circus lost,” she claimed.

They all gathered at the base of the large boxing ring with Sargent Friedkin standing above them. “Out there you’ll face everything from drunk chipmunks, porcupines on PCP, hippo gang fights and irate rhinos. If you’re not ready to face adversaries of every type and size, guess what! You…”

“We’re dead?” Nick interjected to a smattering of snickers and a glower from Friedkin.

“You better believe it Fire Fox, and for that you better search your way into this ring.” As if on cue the ring began to shake as a towering rhino climbed through the rope and entered the ring from the other side.

“You trying to outdo Sutaro for not keeping your mouth shut?” Jasper asked as Nick gave a small groan and climbed into the ring. He was handed a pair of oversized gloves and padded helmet.

“You must be Rufus,” Nick said as the rhino came towards him, the ring shaking slightly beneath his large hooves.

“And you,” Rufus said, swinging a massive gloved fist towards Nick. “Must be who she wants knocked down a peg.”

Nick managed to dodge to the side and avoid the clobbering. While he had seen his share of fights and been in a few scrapes himself, Nick Wilde prided himself in having avoided -- well mostly avoided -- having to engage in many fights during his time on the street. The rhino in front of him seemed intent on ending his peaceful streak. _Here goes nothing,_ he thought as he turned and ran towards the padded ropes around the rings. He flung himself against the elastic rope and twisted in the air as he was hurled backwards towards the rhino, his feet angling toward his chin.

For a fleeting moment, it looked like he might just pull it off. That was until Rufus clapped both his gloved hooves quickly together in front of him. In a flash, Nick found himself hanging upside down above the mat with both his tail and legs trapped between the rhino’s gloves.

“That move only worked once and you’re no bunny, fox,” Rufus said before tossing Nick against the corner of the ring. His ears rang and his vision swam as he collided with the corner post. 

“Looks like you’re—” Sargent Friedkin began to say.

“Nope, still alive over here,” Nick said with a groan as he regained his feet and adjusted his helmet. _If she could bring this thick brute down I can find a way. Horn face is right, have to remember that I’m a fox._

“So, horn face, it true that the farm bunny made you cry?” he called across the ring. Rufus shot him a confused frown. “Or did she knock out enough of your few brain cells that you don’t remember.”

Rufus took a few steps towards him. “I’m supposed to go easy on you recruits but looks like someone needs some more teaching,” he said bringing his gloves together and advancing towards the fox.

“You can’t have done that well in school if you ended up here with us, now can you,” Nick said, circling the ring and trying to keep out of range. _This better work or else I’m about to get a beating that would make Sutaro proud._

With an agility that took Nick by surprise, the rhino charged forward swinging. Nick ducked and dove to the side but still felt a dull pain as one of the rhino’s gloves landed a glancing blow on his leg sending him spinning across the mat.

“Not bad for an ugly unicorn. You know, some moisturizer might do wonders for your skin, scale face” Nick said as he righted himself, just in time to dance away as the enraged bull charged at him again. _Do or die_ he thought as he jumped up and stood, balanced on the far padded corner of the ring and faced Rufus.

“Hell, we clear up your skin, and dab a little cologne behind those ears, maybe you get an actual date Friday night and you don’t have to spend your nights being beaten up by foxes and farm girls…unless that’s what you’re into.”

With murder in his eyes the large rhino charged across the ring and towards the fox perched on the corner post. Nick waited, watching his impending doom coming closer and closer. At the last moment Nick dove forward just as Rufus unleashed a bone crushing blow. He felt the wind whistle overhead as the gloved fist missed him by inches. Tucking into a roll, Nick passed under and between the rhino’s thick legs. Rufus slowed in confusion as his blow landed on empty air. Throwing all his energy into it, Nick shoved his shoulder into the back of the rhino’s knee, unbalancing him and causing him to stumble to the ground against the corner ropes. Momentarily stunned, Rufus was shocked to feel the fox jump onto his chest before grabbing hold of his horn and swinging himself onto his snout, bringing the small mammal eye to eye.

“Boop,” Nick said as he gently patted his gloved fist between the rhino’s eyes. With a fury born out of the depth of hell Rufus raised and swung back his fist, aiming to crush the fox, like an annoying bug clinging to his face…., Nick jumped.

A dull thud reverberated around the room. No one spoke, the assembled recruits and their instructor simply staring into the ring trying to process what they had just seen.

“Class dismissed,” Friedkin finally said in a low growl, taking off her cap and throwing in down. Nick hopped down from the unconscious rhino and made his way out of the ring.

“You never even threw a punch,” Jasper said in surprise, still gazing into the ring.

“You get to have all the fun,” muttered Sutaro.

Nick let out a nervous chuckle that he didn’t know he had been holding.

“I’ll let you have him all to yourself next time, though he might take me up on the cologne thing,” Nick said as they headed for the exit.

He had spent most of his adult life having to outrun or outsmart one threat or another. Gambling with his freedom or whatever he had just to keep one step ahead. Narrowly escaping a beating from an irate rhino in a boxing ring seemed a pretty decent metaphor for the past decade of Nick Wilde’s life. Hell, he was still gambling it all again, a former con turned cop? D _ouble or nothing,_ he thought with a grimace as they walked out into the main courtyard. Nick’s little stunt meant some extra time before dinner.

“You two want to check out the firing range before we eat? They train us on the shock guns next week,” Jasper asked, turning down the path towards the outdoor range, followed by Sutaro.

“I’ll catch you guys at dinner, make sure psycho inkblot keeps her paws off the shockers for all our sakes,” Nick said, turning away and walking towards the dining hall.

“Dinner’s not for two hours, Nick, not sure the building’s open,” Sutaro called after him in confusion.

“Don’t worry, you’ll thank me for it later” was all the response that Nick would offer.

* * *

The oil and garlic had just begun to sizzle in the pan, releasing a pleasantly sharp aroma into the kitchen. The small assembled audience watched as their instructor waited another long moment before transferring heaps of broccoli from a nearby pot.

“You want to boil it just enough that it starts to soften before you put it in the pan,” Nick said, stirring while Bitsy stood to one side furiously taking notes. “Once in the pan….” He used one paw to keep the pan moving over the heat while reaching with the other up to the spice rack. Without breaking his rhythm he grabbed the small canister and gave it a couple of vigorous shakes over the broccoli, “add the oregano.” Stirring for a few moments longer he reached his other paw out towards the cutting board and the freshly sliced lemon before squeezing it over the pot. “Another three and half minutes or so, add a bit of pepper and it should be good to go.” He motioned to the raccoon standing beside him to take over the stirring duties and turned his attention to the main dishes. Cricket and shrimp stir fry or squash and carrot casserole. He’d chosen some simple dishes, figuring that even Bitsy and her crew couldn’t mess them up too badly. Still he watched carefully as a nervous porcupine chopped vegetables next to the crickets cooking in oil. “Cut the peppers thinner and take the crickets out before they disintegrate, it’s a stir fry not a stew.” 

It had only taken a few minutes of talking to Bitsy for Nick to come to the troubling realization that almost none of the kitchen staff had any experience in the seemingly relevant field of, well, cooking. Bitsy’s boss had muttered something about budget shortages and “resource allocation priorities” before moving her and half the office support staff over to kitchen duty.

_That brown glop they’d been serving could have doubled as crime scene evidence._ It wasn’t like Nick really had much of an option other than to step in and help. He was a good public servant now after all. With a few quick lessons and some guidance, they had at least learned how to chop vegetables and not overcook the broccoli. The next challenge was going to be getting the kitchen better ingredients than the cheaply grown, deep frozen, fruits and vegetables from the city suppliers.

His thoughts were interrupted as Bitsy rushed up beside him whipping her hands on her apron.

“Mr. Wilde, we’ve got both the stir fry and the casseroles out and ready to serve! And most of the pies didn’t come out too burnt this time!” The older sheep was managing to make eye contact with him now, but her voice still quivered with excitement mixed with nerves.

“I keep telling you, call me Nick, Fluffs, and good job. Double check that your crew have the stock for the stew tomorrow. You turn in those order forms I gave you?” Nick asked as he took off his own apron. He couldn’t really spend much time back here trying to turn secretaries into chefs.

“I did, Mr. Nick, most of them should ship to us next week but, well, a couple came back rejected. Something about them not having the appropriate city stamp on the order form,” she said as she nervously passed him a small folder of forms. Nick took a quick glance at the order forms. It had been a long shot, but Nick had hoped that a few would slip unnoticed past whatever city bear and cats were in charge of approving food orders.

“Leave this to the sneaky fox, Ms. Butterhorn. The hungry stomachs of Zootopia’s finest must be filled, stamp or no stamp.”

“Well, you’ve already helped me out, who knew salmon could go bad. Did you teach yourself to cook?”

“Nope,” Nick said as he headed for the door. “My mother was the cook. She always told me, ‘A long as you know how to cook you’ll never go hungry or unwelcome in any kitchen.’”

“She was right about that last part,” Bitsy called after him.

* * *

Dinner that night turned out to be more than adequate and Nick found some satisfaction in watching as his friends, and the rest of the recruits, chowed down on what almost passed for decent institutional grub. _Have to get ahold of that stamp,_ he idly thought to himself as he finished up, returned his tray and started walking through the campus towards the dorm. The warm afternoon was giving way to the cool evening breeze. _A certain small fellow fox might, with finesse, be persuaded to aid in the endeavor if_...

“A 10-53 with a A-CR pairing,” the low voice besides him startled him out of his thoughts. Jasper seemingly had the enviable ability to go unnoticed and simply appear out of the shadows. The ocelot’s stoic face would never show it, but Nick figured Jasper got a small kick out of surprising those that underestimated or forgot him.

“Well nice to see you, spook. Yes, the apple pie was tasty, no, I didn’t think the casserole was overcooked but could have used more salt... how are you this fine evening?”

“A 10-53 with a A-CR responding pairing, how do you respond?” Jasper said, not breaking stride besides Nick.

“Well yes, a good old 10-53, well, that’s a…building fire…no, a speeding truck… No! It’s a vehicular accident?” but Jasper just remained silent. Nick rolled his eyes and continued. “And the A-CR pairing…it’s a some sort of accident and first two officers responding are a large cat and…a rhino?”

“So it’s either a building fire, a speeding truck, or a vehicular accident and the responding officers might be a large cat and a rhino or maybe it’s a camel and a raccoon.” Jasper looked down at the fox beside him. “Have you been reviewing the material I gave you?”

Nick opened his mouth, hoping for a characteristic witty response but nothing came out. The truth was he had, and well, it still wasn’t enough. Hour after hour long into the night he had reviewed and read study guides and text books until figures and dispatch codes swam through his dreams. Yet the desk in his cramped academy dorm room was filling with red marked exam papers and progress reports, _Not meeting ZPD standards, Needs Further academic review..._ They kept on coming up with new phrases for saying “The clever fox is too dumb for police work.”

“I’m working on it,” Nick said, trying not to let the mounting frustration seep into his voice, and failing.

“It’s not all chasing down bank robbers, getting rhinos to knock themselves out, or tricking crooked sheep into self-incrimination, it’s learning the justice system behind it all. It may not be as exciting but it’s how the ZPD works as a cohesive unit.”

“And what if the system is bullshit?” Nick said, sounding more bitter than he had intended.

“Well, then we learn the bullshit,” Jasper chuckled. “Hell, if Sutaro can learn it then surely the great Nick Wilde can ace a few test questions.”

Nick felt his cheeks flush under his fur. It was good that it was dark out, and well, being a fox his face was always red. Sure, he was doing better than that first week in the academy classroom and could probably recite the S.I.A.E.N method chapter and verse. Yet the more he studied the more it felt like he was treading water and slowly sinking. Nick would admit that he might not technically be what would be considered a good student. The world outside the classroom had seemed infinitely more interesting than what the textbooks held. He had finished high school but thinking of those days brought memories that he tried to keep locked away. _Long nights as Mara tried to hammer any subject into his thick skull, the hidden look of disappointment on his mom’s face._

“Yeah, well, the great ‘Nick Wilde’ is failing Police Procedure and it’s not shaping up too well for the midterm exam next month, If I don’t...” he turned towards Jasper only to discover that the ocelot had vanished as suddenly as he had first appeared.

“Show off,” Nick muttered loudly into the gathering darkness. His good mood from dinner quickly soured as he made it back to his sparse academy dorm.

Through a combination of following the Judy’s advice, and the more likely fact that no one else wanted to room with the shifty fox, Nick had managed to snag one of the few small first floor single rooms. It made Judy’s apartment seem spacious, but at least he was spared the snores of an elephant roommate. A desk sat beside a small window that looked out onto the academy courtyard and was piled high with textbooks and study sheets. Most of them were covered with the angry red X’s and corrections of Academy instructors, Logan Bull eagerly leading the pack.

In this small cramped quiet place without any judging eyes, Nick felt his shoulders slump. A groan that was half growl emerged from deep within. It would be another long night of flipping through books and looking at study sheets while trying to get his mind to absorb a seeming sea of information. _Can’t BS your way out of this one, Nick my friend,_ he thought, opening their textbook _All Criminals Great and Small_.

It wasn’t that Nick thought himself dumb. He had spent his entire adult life surviving on his wit. He had talked himself into and out of more than his share of situations. The world expected a sly conniving fox, and, well, he figured he might as well become the best at what the world wanted of him. Until now that hadn’t included studying the proper way to write up a drunk zebra or which way to kowtow to a cow that happened to be a superior officer.

He would spend long into that night trying to make it all stick, but the dark conclusion that his mind reached in the small hours was as simple as it was bleak. _I’m going to fail out of this place._ Strangely it was the image of one grey face and disappointed lavender eyes that kept flashing through the tired fox’s mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you are enjoying the story so far and thanks to everyone for the reviews and encouragement. I promise that our dynamic duo will be united soon and will pick up the action pace 
> 
> The next chapter is partially written but it may take a little longer before the next posting, so check back next month ( august 2020) 
> 
> Till next time!


	8. Escape and Drivers Ed

“Who sent you, also…. who are you?” Calvin Hornspear asked, somewhat incredulous.

The four criminals stood in a loose semi-circle around the chair that Julius Tugs had tied Judy to. She strained her legs, testing the ropes, but Julius was no idiot and the jackal had securely fastened the bunny’s legs to the chair and bound her paws together behind her. The few minutes since her capture had created a great deal of excitement amongst the four and it had taken Calvin a few minutes to remember that he was supposed to be in charge of things. So now Judy found herself tied to an old metal chair positioned in front of the stolen construction truck.

“You with that shrew? He don’t own the entire city you know,” Calvin snapped.

Judy thanked her luck that Russano had insisted she change into civilian clothes and out of uniform that morning. Things would likely be much worse if they knew she was Z.P.D.

Judy’s eyes went wide in innocent confusion as she stared around her. “I just wanted a better look at you-all’s truck is all,” she said, putting on all the sweet _who me? I’m just a lost bunny_ attitude she could muster. “Is that the Centipede forty-three hundred?!” she exclaimed, looking up towards the giant truck.

“What?” Calvin said in confusion.

“It’s the forty-six fifty turbo, biggest engine and larger front loader capacity,” Greso chimed in, a note of pride creeping into the ferret mechanic’s voice. He quickly shut it with a shrug when he saw the glare that Calvin was shooting him.

“We’ve just got an old millipede two fifty at our farm. Pop’s saving up and said I could come into the city and see what I could find second hand… but don’t seem like you boys are selling so if you’ll untie me I’ll be on my way.” She looked up at them bashfully. She didn’t expect it would work but it was the best line she could come up with, and Calvin Hornspear didn’t strike her as the reddest carrot in the bunch. It was Clyde, the large boar, who broke their stunned silence with a half snarl, half sneering laugh. 

“What’s a cute little bunny like you doing creeping around an old warehouse like this? Truck shopping? Never know what sort of mammal you’re going to run into.” He crouched down so that he was eye to eye with the bound bunny, the end of his sharpened tusks threating close. “Not a nice neighborhood, folks go missing here all the time. Tell us who you’re with or maybe they won’t be finding you…ever.”

“If she’s with Mr. Bigs then we’re in trouble, Cal,” Greso interrupted in a low voice. “We sure as hell don’t want him coming after us.”

“That snow rat doesn’t frighten me,” Calvin spat, though Judy noticed the hesitation hidden behind his bravado.

“Well, he sure as hell should. He finds out we hurt one of his, gods only knows what he’ll do to us,” Greso responded. “This just supposed to be a simple vehicle job. I don’t want to have the whole underworld coming after us!”

“All the better reason for us to ‘Take care of her,’” Clyde chimed in ominously. Turning away from Judy and walking back to the assembled crew, “She vanishes, we get out of here and by the time anyone puts the two together or finds what’s left, well, we’re gone and she’s added to the long list of missing or killed in the Haunch.” 

Judy followed the conversation with obvious interest, as one does when a group is deciding if it’s best to kill you. While Calvin, Clyde, and Greso debated the finer points of gangland justice, Julius stood a little away from the rest. Only now did Judy have a chance to study the jackal up close. The first thing that struck her was how young he was, she guessed only seventeen or eighteen. His light tan front fur was offset by the dark black streak that ran from his neck down his back ending in his black bushy tail.

He stood nervously fiddling with the large switchblade knife, awkwardly twirling it between his paw pads while his eyes darted back and forth between Judy and the arguing gang. The floodlights illuminating the warehouse glinted off its silver handle, engraved with some emblem that Judy couldn’t make out. Judy noticed his uncomfortable wince when Clyde once again pointed out that killing the unknown intruder was the gang’s simplest, easiest solution. _He likes his knives but maybe not a killer.._. _yet._ That thought gave her some hope as her attention turned back to those arguing her fate. Whatever their decision, Judy figured it might be best to not be around to find out.

Wiggling and pushing her feet she could just get enough force to inch the chair backwards towards the truck. After a few pushes she felt the cool steel and the sharp edge of the truck’s front loader. If she could just push back a few inches she could...

“We don’t want that heat if she is connected and someone comes looking for her, let alone Mr. Big. We tie her up and drop her a few miles outside the city, we’re long gone by the time she alerts anyone,” Greso said, apparently concluding his argument to Calvin.

“Screw that three-piece-suited rat. Him and his polar bears have their heads too far stuck up their own asses up in Tundra Town to worry about us in the Haunch. Me and the kid,” Clyde Tusker gestured over his shoulder towards Julius, “take the cute little carrot muncher and plant her a few feet underground. No need to worry about her alerting anyone ever,” he said with a grin that Judy resolved to wipe from his face at the soonest opportunity.

“Don’t include me in your dirty work. You want to clean up, do it yourself, tusk breath,” Julius said, breaking his silence and turning towards the three mammals arguing Judy’s fate. 

“Figured I was doing you a favor, killing some prying prey mammal gets you in good with your F&C friends, don’t it?” Clyde said with a sneer. “Forward the cause.”

Judy didn’t understand, but Clyde’s words seemed to strike a nerve in the young jackal. Julius scowled back at the large boar. “It doesn’t serve any cause to be stupid and reckless.”

“Who cares about some stupid bunny no one’s going to miss,” Clyde spat, turning his back and picking up one of the oversized wrenches from Greso’s toolbox. “If that pretty knife of yours is just for show, guess I’ll have to give Ms. Thumper a thump and we can be done.”

The boar was surprised to find Julius blocking his path when he turned back towards their captive. The jackal held his engraved knife in only slightly shaking paws but he spoke in a calm measured voice.

“No. I didn’t sign up with you lot to see anyone killed even if she is prey.”

“Figured. Most of you F&C wannabes are all talk and no claw.”

It was around then that Calvin Hornspear remembered he was the supposed leader of this band of thieves and it was probably time he acted like it.

“Shut up both if you,” Calvin said, attempting to mustering his best voice of authority. “Put down the wrench, Clyde, before the kid slices his own paws off.” Julius and Clyde kept their eyes locked for a moment longer before Clyde grunted and let the wrench fall, raising his arms in mock surrender.

“Alright, kid, you proved your point.” Calvin pointed to Clyde and Greso. “You two finish here while Julius and I take our little friend out for a ride. We clear out of this place by midnight.” The others shrugged in agreement. 

“Shit.. ahh guys? Big problem with that,” Greso said, pointing towards the chair where they had tied Judy. It lay on its side, empty.

One of the keys to keeping a tied-up captive, especially one with strong arms, legs, and a keen desire to escape, is to keep a close eye on them. The four thieves had forgotten this rather important point while they argued. It had only taken Judy a short minute of rubbing her tied paws against the sharp truck edge before the rope began to fray and finally gave way. A few moments more to free and stretch her footpads and Judy slipped around the backside of the truck. A quick jump up its steps and a grab onto the open window and Judy found herself in the truck cab. The best lies contain some element of truth, and looking down at the control pad Judy decided that it didn’t look that different from the old tractors and trucks back on the farm…. Well, not all that different. Furrowing her brow and biting her lip, she took a deep breath and stabbed her paw down on what she thought was the ignition button. 

Meanwhile Calvin searched his memory for some impressive inspirational thing to say to rally his befuddled troops.

“Find her!” was the best he could do. Yet just as the others began to move, a rumbling noise filled the warehouse and the front loader truck roared to life and lurched forward. Julius dove to the side out of its path, but Greso wasn’t so fortunate. With a squeak of surprise the mechanic found himself scooped in and experiencing first-hand the Centipede forty-six fifty turbo expanded front loader capacity. A moment later Calvin likewise was scooped into the loader as the truck picked up speed, knocking boxes and crates out of its way as well as smashing the two criminals together.

Inside the cabin Judy swore under her breath. “Jumping hippos,” she muttered. Reaching down and yanking a lever she watched as the loader raised several feet higher in the air. _Nope, that’s not the brake._ She had at least managed to find the lever that raised the control pedals to be within reach. Crashing into another stack of boxes Judy clung to the wheel trying to gain control of the truck. Looking over the wheel and out the cab window Judy could see flailing arms and hooves poking out from the truck’s raised bucket.

Suddenly, with the crack of shattering glass, Clyde Tusker thrust his tusks into the cabin. The rest of his upper body followed as the boar attempted to climb into the cabin, reaching for Judy. He grabbed at her legs. “I’ll tear you to bits!” he yelled, fury in his eyes. Judy let out a yelp as her right leg was yanked towards the window. Twisting her body to face him she lashed out with her other leg. Once, twice, three times her footpad connected between his eyes. With a pained grunt, Clyde made the mistake of letting go of her leg and clutching at his snout. He just had time to notice the first trickle of blood coming out of his nose before he saw the combined force of both of Judy’s footpads coming directly at his eyes.

Judy kicked out with all her might and got the satisfaction of watching Clyde’s bloody face vanish as the boar fell off the side of the truck and landed with a thud in a stack of boxes and crates that collapsed, burying him.

Turning back to the controls, Judy let out a squeak and jerked hard on the wheel and slammed what she hoped was the brake. With a squeal of rubber and metal the truck violently veered to the side and nearly toppled over before skidding and crashing into large rows of shelving against the warehouse’s far wall. Boxes and shelving rained down onto the truck roof, encasing the truck. Judy coughed as the cabin filled with the dust of the long-abandoned facility, and she climbed out the window. Brushing herself off and double checking that her limbs were all still attached, she jumped through a gap in the boxes down to the floor and took in the situation. The banging and moaning coming from the inside the loader proved that she still had half of the gang contained. _Not exactly standard arrest protocol, but it will do,_ she thought as she looked around. The grinding squeak of a door being pried open brought her attention round just in time to see Julius’s black bushy tail disappear out a door set into a back corner of the building.

“Oh no you don’t,” Judy muttered breaking into a run. Her eyes and mind focused on capturing the knife wielding jackal as she dashed across the building. She was so focused in her pursuit that she nearly missed the movement to her right until it was too late. With a boom that shook the windows above, the bloody enraged form of Clyde Tusker exploded out of the shadowy stacks of boxes, sending splintered wood across the floor. His sides heaved in rage. The blood flowing down from where Judy’s feet had connected with his face gave him the look of a nightmare from the depths of hell. Judy skidded to a stop and turned as the boar bore down on her. Even with her fast speed there was nowhere to hide. She dove behind a metal rack of shelving, her heart thumping into her throat.

“Not going to be cute once I’ve skewered you,” Clyde yelled, rubbing one of his tusks as he rammed his shoulder into the shelving, pushing it over. Judy backpedaled, metal and debris crashing down around her. Finding her feet, she dashed towards the front door. Even before she was halfway there she knew she was in deep trouble. The reverberating sounds of heavy hoof falls behind her grew closer and closer. She imagined, _gods let it be my imagination_ , the feel of his hot breath right on her neck. The door and her escape grew ever closer yet the sharp tusks of death on her heels was closer still. There was nowhere to hid or run and Judy had just resolved to turn and face the charging boar when suddenly the door burst open, the late afternoon light momentarily blinding her.

“Hopps down!” Russano’s voice boomed into the warehouse as he raised a dark silhouette to his shoulder. Judy flung herself forward into a not particularly graceful roll. At the same moment a loud crack filled the air as she felt something pass just over her head. Twisting, she watched as Clyde gave a startled grunt as he was engulfed in an expanding net. Its large weighted ends twisting around his legs. His grunt gave way to curses of rage as he collapsed into a tangled heap.

“Well, I see you’ve got things handled here,” Russano said, stepping into the warehouse and looking around, keeping his large net rifle at the ready. Clyde, trapped in the net, continued to hopelessly struggle while the sound of feeble groans emanated from the nearly overturned truck buried in boxes in the far corner. The recently disturbed dust still swirled about. Russano raised a curious eyebrow as another crate crashed to the ground. “Just a simple recon, Hopps? Get a photo and get out before they notice you?” he said gruffly.

Judy stood up and dusted herself off. She had a few bruises that she would feel later but overall she was none the worse for wear. She glowered up at the badger, grateful for the save and embarrassed for the need of it. She knew she had been reckless and it didn’t help for him to point out what a mess she’d made. Still, in for a carrot, in for a bushel, she thought, spying the items clipped to Russano’s side.

“Well, it looks like you’ve got your gang at least.” Russano gestured towards the crumpled Clyde and towards the truck with the two mammals still trapped inside. Judy let out an angry snort and stomped towards Russano. She reached out and unclipped the small black and yellow weapon from his side before turning around and heading for the back entrance.

“Hopps? What do you think you’re doing now?” Russano called after her.

“Working on my counting!” she called back over her shoulder before she vanished out the back.

“Stupid bunny’s going to get herself killed... or worse, get me killed,” Russano said to no one while reluctantly starting a slow jog.

Julius paused briefly when he had heard the smashing of crates and yelps of pain behind him as he left the warehouse. Sure, he was a criminal and all but it’s not like he wanted to see the stupid bunny actually hurt, even if she was prey. Also, and maybe more importantly, the more he had looked at her the more the alarm bells in his mind rang that he had seen that face before and in a shiny blue Z.P.D uniform at that. Helping scout targets for auto thieves was one thing, but kidnapping or killing a city officer… _Not exactly the crew I’d go down for_ , he thought as he slipped out the back door and into the alley behind the building. Julius had been with Calvin and his so-called crew for only a few weeks and already knew it was about time to get out. Calvin couldn’t lead someone out of a wet bag and Clyde Tusker…Well, that guy could benefit from some anger management classes, he thought with a smile as he moved through the alleyways behind the building, dodging between dumpsters and old trash. The sound of sirens approaching only reinforced the young jackal’s gut that he had overstayed his time at this particular party.

Still... He had needed the money and no competent crews would take a chance with someone so young. He was so close and had been counting on this score tonight to get him the money to finally pay his dues. His thoughts were interrupted by a rustling behind him. He spun around to find nothing but overturned trash bin and some old boxes. 

Only two ways to get in, pay the green or spill the red, his uncle’s words sticking in his mind as he anxiously fingered the handle of the knife in his pocket, his uncle’s old knife. His claws traced the well-worn groves of the engraved emblem on its handle. Still there were other jobs, other marks, and other ways to find the money. The alternative…well… _I’m just not there yet_. He rounded another bend in the alley, the sounds of traffic beckoning him to the safe anonymity of crowded Zootopian streets. He stopped short, his jaw clenching and unclenching in shock and surprise.

“Now I really have found you,” Judy said. She was leaning against the alley wall blocking his exit, with arms folded and a small smirk. With one paw, she casually fished the gold Z.P.D badge from her waist. “So keep the flashy knife in your pocket. I’ll give you a free ride downtown,” she said, trying to look cool, calm, and collected and not like someone who had recently survived a fight with a boar and spent the last five minutes franticly running down alleyways. _Nick would be proud_ , she thought as she stared down Julius.

“Looks like you’re a girl who can handle herself. Glad to see this city reaching out to underserved species like you,” Julius said, keeping his voice positive and his hand out of his pocket.

“Not sure your friends agree. You can ask them down in holding.”

“My friends!?” Julius said, adding a note of surprise and hurt in his voice. “Oh, I barely know those guys, rough sort but I figured you could handle them,” he said, inching his way towards the exit and past the small bunny.

“Well, then I’m sure it would be no problem to come to the station and tell my partner and me all about them. Clear this whole thing up.” Judy moved to block his path, twirling her badge. “Also talk about that whole knife to my throat thing,” she added. Her voice was cheery, but Julius didn’t miss the threatening look in her eyes.

“Oh, that? I’ll remind you I also tried to save you in there. Clyde was ready to smash you to pulp. Let’s say we call it even, a draw! We both live to fight another day in this mean old city.” He moved to step around Judy, his back against the wall. Surprisingly the bunny cop stepped to one side clearing his way to freedom.

“I did appreciate that,” she said.

“Hey, no problem,” he said with a casual dismissive wave as he walked by her. “See you around.” The late afternoon air was cool on his fur and the sweet tingle of a narrow escape filled his blood. _I may not have the money but at least I’m not spending_...

His thoughts were cut off as the taser dart hit him squarely between his shoulders. He let out an undignified squeak of shock as the electricity jolted his body and brought him crashing to the hard sidewalk.

“And I’ll be sure to note in my report just how grateful I am for your cooperation,” Judy said, placing one foot on his back while leaning down and pulling his arms behind him. “Oh, and its carrots.”

“What??” Julius moaned, his face flat against the pavement, body aching from the dart and the fall and his arms securely cuffed behind him.

“My family, we grow carrots, Not turnips!”

Half an hour later Judy and Russano watched as the large Z.P.D van pulled away, the four criminals cuffed and locked in its back. The scene had been taped off and other officers now searched the warehouse for evidence and material. Everything from wrenches to the discarded Bugburga wrappers were tagged and placed in evidence bags for processing. 

“Funny how backup always show up once all the real works been done,” Russano remarked, watching the scene before glowering down at Judy. “Also funny how you jumped your way in there with no plan and nearly got yourself killed.” Judy gave a small flinch and but met the badger’s accusing eyes.

“I got the evidence we needed … and sure, maybe I should have waited.”

“Should have?” Russano interrupted.

“We got them red-pawed, didn’t we? They would have gotten away if I hadn’t… jumped my way in there.” She said. holding up her paws for emphasis 

Russano was opening his mouth to snap something back when they were interrupted by a potbellied lion officer informing them that the scene had been processed and that the stolen truck had been cleared to be returned to the construction site.

“Have one of your desk sloths take care of it, we’re done,” he said gesturing behind him to Judy. The only problem was that Judy had already taken off back into the warehouse and towards the truck. “This running in without telling me thing is getting old,” Russano muttered.

“I’ve got the hang of it now” Judy said settling herself into the cabin and adjusting the seat.

“You’ve already taken down the gang. And now you want us to deliver construction equipment?” Russano grunted up at her from the ground, his tone a shifting mix of exasperation and slight amusement. “Do you even know how to drive that thing?” 

“Dad always says the harvest’s not done just because you picked the crop. Jobs not finished till barn’s full,” Judy said.

“Well my dad always said, don’t listen to stupid farm sayings, especially if they keep you from dinner.” Russano grumbled.

“Leftovers from lunch are in the car, come on!” she said excitedly “I haven’t gotten to drive a truck like this in years. What site are we driving it to?”

Russano sighed but pointed at the painted side of the truck. “Lionheart Construction, only the one site in the city for that. I’ll follow with the car.” His natural frown deepened when he saw the questioning look on Judy’s face. “Caribou Tower?”

“Umm, should I know where that is?”

“Kangaroo on a fucking pogo stick,” he swore. “Might help if you actually knew the city you want to save.” He stomped off towards his green station wagon. “Guess I’m leading.” 

The engine rumbling to life, Judy eagerly reached for the wheel while pressing down hard on the pedal beneath her footpad. Which a squeal the truck lurched backwards back into the warehouse. Officers and technicians jumped out of the way and Judy was nearly thrown from her seat before she slammed on the brake.

“Sorry! Sorry!” she called out the window towards her fellow officers as they picked themselves off the ground, several glowering at her as they dusted themselves off. Worse yet was the snorted laugh as Russano pulled up in his car.

“Guess we know why you didn’t get to drive the truck back home.”

The inside of her ears turning from pink to a burning red, Judy shifted the truck into drive and pulled out following Russano’s beat up car onto the street.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new chapter to close out 2020. The next chapter is already written and will be posted next week.  
> After that I'll be back to my normal slow sporadic updates ( hopefully another chapter posted in a month that end with Ary) 
> 
> Would love to know what you think so far


	9. Towers and Falls

The rumbling of machinery and the sight and even smell of construction had become a familiar scene during her first year in Zootopia but the sight that met Judy as she maneuvered the truck…. _Only knocked over that one trash can thank you very much_ … still made her pause in surprise. Four city blocks seemed to have been wiped away and a massive skeleton of concrete and steel raised in its place. The base floors already higher than any of the nearby buildings and steel pillars shot upwards towards the sky. Judy craned her neck back trying to take it all in. 

“Caribou Tower, The bold future of Zootopia, look on my mighty works and despair,” Russano said, as Judy climbed down from the truck. He lent against his car staring up at the jumbled maze of steel beams and half-finished masonry. His face a held a slightly deeper frown than what Judy now recognized as its natural state.

“Despair at what?” Judy asked but Russano just rolled his eyes.

“Tallest building in Zootopia when, or if, they ever finish it. This place has been a half built towering monstrosity for a decade.” He replied.

Judy couldn’t choose between monstrosity or a sense of awe as her eyes followed the twists and turns of the building. The first dozen floors made up the base and seemed to be nearing completion with windowpanes and the glow of lights but higher up the building twisted and split into three distinct tower sections each bending towards the sky.

For a city with hundreds of architecture styles and environments this building still seemed to stand apart in massive scale.

“Wait with the truck while I find the foreman to sign off on its return.” Judy started to object but Russano cut her off, waving one large silver and black paw. “For once today just stay still, Hopps. This place already gives me the creeps and I’d rather not have to come find you half way up a crane or some shit,” he muttered as he walked off towards a set of trailers.

Even this late in the day the construction site buzzed with activity, cranes and trucks rumbled around the parameter with crews of mammals in hardhats moving in every direction. A pair of rhinos in orange vests carried steel beams over to a waiting crane while a crew of beavers worked on wood paneling for interior walls. High above orange sparks fell as beams were welded together. The scene had the look and feel of choreographed chaos. Judy pulled out her phone to get a photo. _Dad’s not going to believe this._

“Move it, cotton tush!” a voice yelled from behind her. Turning around and looking down Judy found a large spool of cooper electric wire coming quickly at her. Crouching slightly to look down further she spotted the long pointed pink noses of five gray and brown shrews supporting the round wire on their shoulders as they jogged towards the building.

“Sorry, just trying to get a good view,” she said as she stepped to the side, out of their way.

“Well get that view somewhere else, cutie. Some of us got work to do!” the crew leader yelled back.

“Hey don’t -- ” Judy started to defend her bunny decency but the shrews never broke stride and just continued by her. Somehow, she thought that he probably didn’t care if he was rude. She watched as they carried the spool of wire to one edge of the building and set it down. The leading shrew grabbed the end of the wire and clipped it to a small ring around his belt. He took a moment to reach up and flip on a headlamp attached to his hardhat before he dashed into the small opening of a tube. Judy hadn’t noticed them before, but a series of small narrow tubes almost like downspouts ran around the outside of the building, twisting and branching off at different floors. The wire was pulled into the darkness and unspooled behind him and after about twenty feet the next shrew in the crew hooked onto the line and likewise ran into and up the tube. Judy watched as the electrical wire coil grew smaller and smaller until the final shrew hooked in and pulled the last of the wire up into the tubing. _Huh -- I wonder if they can fix my apartment cable,_ she thought.

Rude or not the shrew had been right about the view. Judy held up her phone in camera mode but no matter which direction she turned it, she couldn’t fit the whole building into frame. Looking around and with Russano nowhere in sight, Judy moved to cross the street and get a better view. _Not technically disobeying orders_. She had started sending her parents a few interesting city photos each week to prove to them that she hadn’t been trampled, eaten, murdered, or otherwise destroyed by whatever darkness her parents imagined stalked every city street. Besides, she figured her country farm-dwelling parents secretly enjoyed sights of the towering metropolis.

Standing on the sidewalk and holding the camera low she finally could just get the higher sections of the three tower sections into view. The setting sun behind the building making it seem to glow with shadows and reflected light. Her thumb pad had just clicked the photo circle when another strange voice came from behind her 

“He’s wrong by the way,” the voice called out. Judy turned around but no one was behind her.

“What?” she asked, turning her head from side to sid,e and again looking down but still finding nothing.

“Old grumpy snout Russano. He’s wrong about the building being a monstrosity,” the female voice said, speaking quickly and with excitement. Having looked to each side, and down, Judy finally took the obvious last option and looked up and found the speaker. Two stories up sat a squirrel, her feet dangling out over the window ledge. Her orange rust colored fur offset a pair of dark blue leggings and a black tank top. Beside her the last few bites of a sub sandwich sat in its wrapper. 

“And it won’t just be the tallest building in Zootopia. Tallest building in the whole world!” the squirrel said. Her large black eyes looked up with clear admiration at the towering height. “At least for now.”

“Hi there. Umm, yeah, sure is big,” Judy said awkwardly, glancing back and forth between the construction site and the squirrel sitting on a sixty-foot ledge. _A narrow sixty-foot ledge,_ Judy thought. “Kind of a strange looking building,” Judy added.

“Strange! It’s beautiful. Well, when it’s finished it will be, all two thousand, eight hundred forty-five feet and twenty-two inches. Add five feet if you count the flagpole. I’m Beth by the way!” the squirrel jumped to her feet, her long flat tail waving from side to side. Judy winced as it slipped over the ledge before righting itself. Beth didn’t seem to notice but instead picked up her sandwich and walked along the ledge while pointing up at the towers.

“Caribou Tower supposed to look like… yep you guessed it, a caribou,” she said, waving towards the three distinct towers emerging out of the dozen story base floors of the building. “Three antler towers that each will have two additional splits. So nine peak points, the middle antler being the tallest.” She pointed at the central tower. Now that Judy knew what she was looking at, she could start to pick out the features of each skeletal tower.

“I see it. They do kind of look like antlers,” Judy said. “I’m Judy, by the way.”

“Hopps, right? Not exactly lots of officers like you in the Z.P.D., and you must have pissed someone off if they paired you up with old Stonepaw.” She gestured towards where Russano had been standing.

“Stonepaw? You mean Russano?” Judy asked.

“Anyone who hangs around the seedy parts of this city knows that face. Hell, half of them been arrested by him at least once.” 

The squirrel plopped down again, right on the ledge’s edge, her feet dangling off the drop in a way that made Judy distinctly nervous. “Thanks for getting the truck back. Even if...” she paused and looked down at a large wristwatch. Down below Judy could just see the watch’s digital display light up. “Even if it’s delayed the opening by a week,” Beth said with a sigh before biting into the last of her sandwich.

“Delayed the opening a week?” Judy said, with a mix of surprise and amusement. “It’s one truck. Not like they’re short of them here.” She looked across the street at the seeming dozens of trucks that moved around the site. She spotted Russano returning to where they had left the stolen _well now returned_ truck. Judy waved her arms and gave a few bounces before she got his attention. Even at this distance she imagined she could see the eye roll he gave.

“The tower runs like clockwork. Pull one piece and everything slows down. They pulled a truck from tower three that was digging ground for water pipes and sewage. You know they hit some sort of underground spring last year and delayed the whole site for a month, Anyways, that truck being gone delayed everything by,” Beth looked down and made some more calculations on her watch, “three hours and twenty minutes, give or take.”

“Well, that’s hardly a week,” Judy said smugly.

“Big city openings are always Friday evenings.” Beth looked at Judy as if this was the clearest thing in the world. “Ribbon cutting, speeches, boozy gala, pictures for the Saturday paper,” she threw up her arms, “so a four-hour delay pushes the whole thing back a week.” Her watch gave a series of beeps. “Oh this is one of my favorite parts, watch!” Beth said pointing a paw towards the center tower. Judy’s ears perked in surprise as she saw a series of long cables rapidly descending from the top levels of the tower. She almost gasped as she made out the figures of mammals attached by harnesses to bungee cables.

“They do inspections of the outside at the end of the day. Big rolls of bungee cords on each floor calibrated for the building height,” Beth said. Judy could see a Zebra inspector checking weld points. His body seeming to defy gravity and walk on the side of the building.

“So, you’re really looking forward to the opening. You already got a ticket?” Judy asked.

“Oh, I don’t care about the party,” Beth said dismissively. “It’s what I’m going to do after.”

“And what are you going to do once they open the tower?” Judy asked, still distracted by the sight of the inspectors suspended in the air. Their forms made small dark dots against the imposing height, moving like choreographed dancers as they went up and down the building’s exterior.

“I’m going to jump off the top of it,” Beth replied.

“Oh but... Wait… What!” It had taken a few moments for the words to actually register in Judy’s mind. Her eyes snapped back towards the squirrel perched on the ledge with new concern. Russano chose that moment to walk up.

“Alright Hopps, you’ve harvested the turnips and filled the barn or whatever. Time to go.”

He followed her gaze up towards Beth perched above them. He gave a grunt as Beth gave him a wave. “She bothering you?” he asked.

“No, I think she needs help! She’s threatening to jump off the tower,” Judy said, trying to keep her voice low.

“I wasn’t talking to you,” Russano said to Judy before returning his attention upwards. “Haven’t seen you for a while, Beth. How you been?”

“Oh, you know. Been slow, no one dying particularly interesting all month, bored out of my tail. You?”

“Oh, you know, the regular.” He gestured over to Judy who was watching with growing concern. “Bogo stuck me with the city-saving hero bunny of the week. She’s concerned that you’re going to jump off the tower,” pausing a brief moment. “To your death.”

“Ahh... well, I’m not jumping till it’s finished.” She said, give Russano a small nod. 

Judy took this moment to interrupt. “If you’ll come down and talk with us, I’m sure we can work something out. The city has mental health resources...”

“Let me handle this one. You work this city long enough and you get to know the nutcases and not many nuttier than Beth Stone,” Russano said to Judy.

“So how long do you have to wait for them to finish this damn thing,” he asked, turning towards the tower. The last inspector was slowly being reeled back up as most of the workers began to leave for the night. Beth looked down and began twisting dials and poking at the watch and her wrist.

“Factoring in the delay of today, probable future delays and average progress…. two years, four months, ten days, and twenty hours.” She stood up and looked down towards the two officers. “But who’s counting.”

“See, Hopps, not a pressing police issue,” he said and started to walk away.

“But we can’t just...” Judy said, with concern and confusion as she looked back and forth between the two.

“Tell you what, set one of those computer alerts and check in in two years and three months and see if she still plans to jump.” He turned back and looked up at the squirrel. “You need a ride Beth?”

Beth bent down and picked up the wrappings from her now finished sandwich and crumpled them into a ball. To Judy’s surprise, she threw the crumped ball up and out over the ledge in a high arc.

Judy was just trying to recall what the citation number was for littering when she saw Beth slip. The squirrel’s arms flailed wildly as she tried to keep her balance on the narrow ledge half on and half over the ledge. Judy gave a shriek in horror as Beth toppled over, her small body plummeting towards the ground. Judy broke into a run but knew that even her legs wouldn’t get her there in time. Beth’s flailing arms pulled in tight to her side as she picked up more speed. Then suddenly she flung them out and in front of her, the thin membrane of skin stretching between her wrists and hips expanding like two tight sails. In an instant Beth went from uncontrolled plummet to a quick controlled glide. With a twist of her wrists Beth leveled out over the sidewalk before dropping feet first in front of a startled Judy. With one paw she pulled out a small card and handed it to Judy, who stood with her mouth hanging open. With her other paw, she reached up and caught the crumpled-up sandwich wrapper. 

“Nope, got a date tonight. He’s got kind of a weak chin so won’t work out, still a gal’s got to have some fun in this town,” she said with a wink towards Judy she turned and walked away, tossing the wrapper into a trashcan. Judy stared still processing what had just happened. Finally opening her paw she looked down at the card _Beth Stone: Zootopia City Forensics._

“She… she works for the city?” Judy stammered at Russano.

“Yep. The bloodier the mess the better.”

“But you said she was a crazy!”

“You of all people should know that being crazy and working for this city are hardly mutually exclusive,” Russano said as they walked back his car. As she opened the passenger door Judy’s shocked mind finally clicked.

“You knew the whole time! You let me think that… A flying squirrel!” she said angrily. 

“And that’s what you get for making me late for dinner,” he said, his normally grim face breaking into a grin.

Sometimes it’s those small chance meetings that make or shape our lives. Following a gut feeling into an elephant ice cream shop, or a chat with a friendly if eccentric flying squirrel. Seeming small decisions and meetings that change lives and set events in motion. Years later Judy would think back to that first meeting with Beth. Staring up at the celling late at night she would wonder how things would have gone if she hadn’t insisted on driving the truck back, or hadn’t decided to take that photo. What if Beth had left five minutes earlier? _So much would have been… different._ There would be nights where this brought flowing tears to her eyes and other times where she quietly thanked every star above…twice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter but I hope you enjoyed.  
> Next chapter is in progress but will probably be a few weeks away.  
> As promised we will see our favorite dynamic duo reunited.


End file.
